A New Generation - Team FLAN
by InfamousTA
Summary: An AU where things went far more swimmingly for the familiar faces we know and love, they eventually grow and come around to take over the very academy they once attended. Now they face the challenge of raising huntsmen for a new generation. Mainly focuses on the new class. Rated M because I enjoy violent combat, and possible romantic themes.
1. Chapter 1: Setting the Scene

_First Entry_

_The current roster of accepted students has grown to quite the size, and we've found an increasing need in teaching staff. I have, with the permission of the rest of the council, sent letters out to several old friends in an effort to acquire more staff for the upcoming year. Things have looked hopeful, but they are much like a kettle that will boil over if not appropriately managed. As you all know, our job here is to train huntsmen and huntswomen. We will not have that objective jeopardized with silly antics and poorly designed classes. With that in mind, we've developed a schedule that should provide the students satisfactory classes, as well as ensuring our staff is not terribly overworked. Although we do not have an official headmaster or mistress, as the head of council and in lieu of teaching a class myself, I will do my utmost alongside my vice head of council to ensure things go as swimmingly as we can hope for. I hope that you all look forward to the coming school year as much as I do._

_ Head of Council – Jaune Arc Vice Head of Council – Lie Ren_

The black haired young man lounged around the courtyard of the massive school. He was sprawled out across the bench watching the Bullheads come and go as it deposited fresh students for the entrance ceremony that would take place that evening. There was also a tour or something which was going to happen at some point during the day, or perhaps various tours were going on right now. It didn't really matter to him, he wasn't going to busy himself with that. Besides, he'd lived around Vale his whole life; he had gotten his fair share of time to look around both the city and the school.

He knew his way around campus.

No, he wanted to take the time to revel in the real spectacle at hand, the new students. Well, peers would likely have been a more appropriate term. Maybe even classmates.

Aspirants?

He liked that, it sounded arcane and distinct, had a certain air of mystery to it. His fellow aspirants. Or at least, soon to be, once the ceremony was complete and they went through the long process of enrollment. At least, he assumed it would be long. He yawned, the idea of paperwork merging with the warmth of the late summer sun cooking quite the urge to take a nap.

Resisting the urge, he sat himself up and sat properly on the bench as he continued to observe the newcomers. Someday soon he'd been in a team and he's start pursuing his career as a huntsman with full force alongside like-minded individuals. He smiled at the thought, considering he'd always been a bit outside the norm in his classes leading up to this.

He reached up and swept his hair to the side, his hand almost delicate and careful as it ensured not a strand was out of place. Despite his baggy eyes and thin lips, which would lend themselves to a more rowdy or messy hairstyle, he kept his mane impeccably well groomed. Short and styled, he liked the manicured appearance. It leads most people to think he was one of those fighters who didn't like getting dirty, or someone who couldn't appreciate a good brawl.

It paired well with the dress shirt vest combo he wore for a shirt and the loose jeans and combat boots. He was somewhere between semi-formal and battle ready. It was an appearance he was rather pleased with, both sharp and dangerous.

Who said you can't look good on a battlefield, after all?

Just then, a couple of women emerged from the ship, chatting happily to each other. Something about them was different, they were new but not quite in the way he expected. There was a pressure that hung about them, and the crowd seemed to know it unconsciously as they parted around these two without so much as a thought.

Tilting his head, he studied the red and orange haired women as they proceeded down the main path, which took them right past his bench. The red-haired woman, was a fiery and energetic, her hands moving at a blinding pace to match her chattering as she regaled the other girl with some tale. Her black and red ensemble was uncharacteristic and odd, but fetching all the same. Her face carried a slight bit of age, but it did nothing to detract from her demeanor and might even be ignored altogether if you were taken in conversation with such an expressive individual. She practically bounced on her toes with every other word. Her companion was in a pink and white outfit, and she too was bubbling with words. He noticed much of the same wear and tear of age on her, signifying that they were definitely not to be students.

He found it odd that they could carry on a conversation where neither one of them appeared to be listening, but as they came into earshot and passed he realized they were somehow managing to both tell their stories and respond excitedly to the other's story. It was exceedingly strange.

"I never did figure out how they did that." A voice chimed from over the young man's shoulder, causing him to jump from his chair and wheel towards the speaker, "You're taking a rather passive approach for a new student." The speaker had an elegance that had nearly made him step on his own heel as he turned, which would have certainly toppled him onto the grass. How he had managed to catch himself was a mystery he would address later.

Clearing his throat, he replied swiftly while snapping to a vague sort of attention, "Ms. Belladonna, I apologize. I didn't see you there." He brushed himself off absentmindedly; worried he might appear unpresentable for his first encounter with one of the instructors. He'd done his research, and save a few names he'd never seen before, he was very familiar with the faculty he'd be dealing with. He cursed himself for being so blasé in that moment, perhaps taking one of the tours would have been better use of his time. Way to start off on the wrong foot.

"Few do, it is by design." Her voice gave way to an almost lazy cadence. It still carried a sort of proud elegance, as if she were choosing her words carefully to convey her message. Still, her cadence was sleepy and slow, in a way that wasn't quite methodical, "I understand you were in my practical class last week before the entrance exam." She turned her eyes to him, amber orbs that made him shrink in his boots.

"Indeed I was," he replied, his words were strong and well-chosen but his voice wavered, giving way to his apprehension. They were met with a smile that only a faunas was capable of, dripping that predatory vibrancy that made one feel like prey.

"Odd that I don't remember you very well, just enough to not overlook such well-preened hair. I imagine your marks were not particularly notable?"

"I- No, they were middling at best." He looked away with disappointment, still awkwardly standing uncomfortably stiff. He didn't dare try to grin or make light of the scenario. If he remembered, she took her studies and students very seriously.

The woman paused, crossing her arms for a moment before a knowing expression came to her face, "I remember now, Felix Ardent. Your weapon reminds me of my own. That was it."

For a moment, it looked like she might go on, but suddenly a heavy hand crashed onto his shoulder and just about smashed him off his feet. As he staggered, the hand grasped his shoulder firmly and an almost alien strength prevented him from falling over. In an instant, he was forcibly righted and the hand was gone. A buxom blonde woman stepped past him and hooked her arm through Ms. Belladonna's as she dragged her away, "Pick on the students later. If we miss the ceremony Jaune is going to lose his mind. With Ruby and Weiss in town at the same time you know he's got way too much on his plate already."

Felix could feel the strength and confidence that each woman exuded in their every step. Even with them leaving and walking off towards the main building of the school. He almost felt a need to steady himself on something, or even just grip his hand and stop the minute shiver that ran through his body. He had read about his instructors, or at least most of them, but was this really what a huntsmen was like? Huntswomen, whatever. This was beyond anything he imagined, meeting them in person was drastically different than observing their stories.

Any of the confidence he had felt in his body earlier had evaporated. Maybe he wasn't ready for this school year after all.  
_

"Nope, nope, nope. All the nope," The girl who'd come from the final Bullhead before the ceremony watched as one of her future peers was practically assaulted by Ms. Belladonna and Ms. Xiao Long. She pitied him, but she was not about to subject herself to two of the most famous huntresses who had ever lived. She regarded the moment as a lesson that was being taught in the moment. Complacency was punished by unexpected complications.

Adjusting the metal breast plate she wore as she passed the awestruck young man, she gave the sunken looking black haired individual. He appeared interesting, even his expression had something lamely charming about it. She made a note to hunt him down and properly evaluate him if he passed the entrance exams. Throwing him a grin over her shoulder, which he likely missed in his dazed experience, she made her way to the main hall. The crowd was pretty thick, but that didn't stop the girl from barging her way through one shoulder or elbow at a time until she was practically in front of the stage.

Beaming brightly through her red hair, she reached up and pulled the long strands behind her ear to clear her vision as the head of the school strode confidently to the podium. The applause was deafening, but she didn't join in. She was too taken aback and pleased that she had finally arrived. She was so lost in the fanfare, that even when the clapping died down, she couldn't quite focus on the words being spoken to the crowd.

She recalled something about Beacon, and talk about how proud they should all be to have made it as far as they had already. Something, something, no hard feelings about tomorrow, something, something, have a good night. Then it was over.

She mindlessly nodded, a second round of applause, and then their instructors began partitioning the classes off to get them locker assignments. The young woman blindly followed the section of the crowd she was in, still in a blissful haze as she wandered the halls to where her locker room was going to be. Suddenly she was jarred from her daze when a pair of hands landed on either shoulder, "What is your name young lady?" The voice was proper, dignified, and yet at the same time comforting and motherly. She glanced up at the tall red haired woman and responded dreamily,

"Christy O'Faire, marm." Her accent wasn't really thick, but she could still feel it on a handful of words. Judging by a handful of the snickers around her, others did too. Oh well, not like their opinions mattered.

"Well Christy, your locker will be 306. Sensibly, it is located here on the third floor. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding it, after all you look like a clever girl. Afterwards, please head down to the cafeteria and we'll get you a sleeping bag so you can get rest. Trust me, you're going to need it," She smiled again; it was a truly winning one. Christy practically blushed underneath her stare; it felt like her own mother had just complimented her. Nodding, she scurried off to deposit her gear.

When she finally made it to her locker, she realized her end of the hall was nearly deserted. She thought it was strange, but then there had easily been more lockers than the number of students she'd seen. The attrition in entry must be pretty high, considering how small the actual dorm section for first year students was. Factoring in the second through fourth year attendees, this was clearly designed to accommodate the hopeful applicants more so than the students.

Shrugging, she removed her combat gear and took inventory. Breastplate, check. Pauldrons, check. Hip plates, check. Shin plated boots, check. Finally, she came to her pride and joy. Pushing her flanged mace and shield into the locker, she backed up and grinned proudly at her equipment. It was what had got her here, and it was what would get her through the exam tomorrow. Closing the locker loudly, she prepared to turn on her heel and leave when she noticed the black haired young man from earlier a handful of lockers down.

"No time like the present," She smiled to herself, marching over triumphantly. She came to a stop in front of him. Firmly extending a hand in his direction, "Put 'er there, I'm Christy, an you?"

He glanced up from the strange, brutal looking weapons he had been toying with as she spoke. He glanced from her hand, back up to her, then carefully nestled his weapons in his lap. Reaching out, he took her hand and gave it a quick, curt shake, "Felix." As soon as he'd released her hand, he turned his attention back to his own gear and began toying with it.

"A saw ya gettin' fresh with a few a tha instructors. Nah bad gettin' acquaint'd so early, I'm impressed." She grinned, shifting her body to lean against the locker with her shoulder, "Ya considered teamin' up wit' anyone yet? Ya look like ya can carry yaself nicely."

"No, I haven't. I'll let everything play itself out," he glanced up at her, standing a moment later. He turned to his open locker, 344, and carefully placed his blades on the coat hooks within. She thought his weapons were most definitely unique. Whereas her own were plain and obvious in their design and function, his were a strange crossover. Likely one of those complicated switch weapons she'd seen a myriad of other students carrying. A waste honestly, why complicate something when you can just focus on form and function.

"Alright, don' come cryin' when I pass an' you don' then." She smiled, giving his weapons one last look before he closed the locker. They were like long meat cleavers, the handle being seated so far back on the blade. The blade seemed to be composed of several segmented bladed plates, and the top of each one extended a good inch further than the bottom of it, giving it a clawed appearance. In the center of base of the blade, where one could easily reach a finger while holding it, was a circular notch with a trigger in it. Probably a gunblade of sorts, she pondered, as the locker was finally shut.

"I don't intend to," he shrugged, seemingly taking no offense, "I'll get what I earn in the end." He offered a wave over his shoulder as he turned to leave, "See ya downstairs."

Shaking her head quickly, she jogged a few steps before falling in stride with him. The two made quite the pair as they walked, "Don' leave me here, we're goin' the same way. May as well make the walk together."

"Suit yourself, I don't mind either way. Company is nice, though."

This was the absolute worst possible scenario she could imagine.  
_

Sam was curled up in the corner of the room staring at everyone trying to bed down for the night. She didn't know a soul in the room and they were all going to just go to sleep peacefully? What if one of them was a traitor or a killer or had night terrors? What if a fight broke out or a yelling match started? What if someone was going to get _handsy_?

She rustled in the corner where she'd gathered her belongings into something resembling a tiny sleeping bag hovel as she watched the other students with wide, shaky green eyes. Just then, the doors that lead towards the locker rooms opened up and a pair of individuals walked in still wearing their casual clothes. Were these assassins? It was impossible to tell. Honestly anyone could be in disguise waiting for an opportunity to spring a trap upon these vulnerable hunts-children.

She watched the red haired girl pat the black haired man heartily on the back and then strut off in a direction. The black haired man stood there a moment, sizing up the room for a few seconds before he ran his hands through his extremely well groomed hair and turned to leave the cafeteria.

She took her previous thought back, now this was the worst possible scenario.

Sure, she could account for the red head, her foot steps were loud and deliberate. She didn't have a care in the world, but the shady looking black haired man didn't make a sound. Even his breathing had been quiet and careful: the measured breathing of an _assassin_. And he had left the room! She couldn't possibly keep an eye on him, or keep her distance from him. He had left and now she was going to be stuck ruminating on what he could possibly be plotting in whatever location he'd snuck off to.

Perhaps she should notify a teacher.

No, she didn't want to seem weak; everyone else seemed to be sleeping just fine. Not to mention, she'd set herself a backdoor by the far entrance, so worst case scenario she'd be able to scurry out in the initial chaos if someone took to culling the students. No one starts in corners; it removes your ability to capitalize on panic and chaos. No, corners were for mice and meek little creatures trying to avoid ambush. Corners were for defensive positions. Slinking down into the floor, she started carefully counting sheep in an attempt to lure sleep into her bag to calm this panic.

After all, she needed to rest for the exam tomorrow.

In what felt like an instant, the sun pierced her eyelids and she quickly sat up and squirmed out of her sleeping bag. She'd picked this end of the room because the sun would wake her before anyone else and she could easily slink out before anyone else woke up. All the excitement from the night before, as well as the students who'd sat up late that evening to chatter about the upcoming practical, or at least their ideas on what it would be. Taking a deep breath, she abandoned the lent sleeping gear in the corner and crept from the room.

The hallways of Beacon were bright, even this early in the morning. There was warmth to the entire school that made it extra difficult for her to stay on alert. She almost felt comfortable when she saw strangers approaching her. Of course she was far more alert than that, but she almost felt comfortable about it. She slipped carefully through the halls until she managed to break free from the adjoined dorm section and arrive at the lockers.

Sliding up to 101, she punched the combination and swiftly opened it up. Lunging inside, she breathed a huge sigh of relief as she pulled her rifle from the locker. It was, frankly, far too large for its own good. The rifle itself was nearly as long as she was tall, and if it weren't for dust application, it very likely wouldn't even fire an effective round. The loved her baby all the same, and with it in her arms again, she felt at ease once more. Her and Meter would take on the world.

"You certainly like your weapon, don't you?" The smooth, casual voice startled her from her daze and she physically jumped away from the sound, slamming the locker as she did. In the same instant, she had gripped the hand guard on the barrel and her right hand dropped into the trigger well as she hefted it over her head.

"Whodidyougethereforlong?" She spoke a mile a minute as she threatened to drop the bladed barrel like an axe. The man leaned back slowly, blinking at her as he raised his hands in front of him in a gesture of surrender. She quickly threw her eyes over him and took in every bit of detail she considered important. He was dressed in a casual crimson compression shirt with various black lines on it. At one hip, he had a small leather strap which had needles threaded through it that gleamed menacingly in the sunlight. On his right hand was a form-fit gauntlet that was practically a glove, on each knuckle of the fingers was a tiny shine of pooled thread. The thumb, however, had a tiny spike at the very tip of it, too small for combat, but maybe not for poison.

"I'm sorry, what?" He asked, grinning stupidly.

"Who are you, when did you get here, how long have you been there?" She repeated her question, but this time slow enough that it could be understood outside of her own thoughts. She lifted the rifle again, menacingly.

"Jack Parks, I got here just a second ago, and I just stopped as I was passing to say hello, so… almost exactly as long as you've known I was here?" He offered a slight shrug, "I'mma go now, so good luck and stuff." He gave her a thumb up with the gauntlet as he stepped back out of hacking range and went around the girl without giving her a second glance.

She concluded that she would have to put her semblance up more often while she was here.  
_

Jaune took a deep breath as he looked at the students all gathered by the woody copse that lead to the cliff he remembered all too fondly from his own days at Beacon. "Nervous?"

He glanced over at the tall elegant figure of Pyrrah Nikos, who stood beside him for the exam commencement. He offered her a small grin, "Not particularly, I'm not the one getting tossed into the forest today." He smiled, patting her on the shoulder. She smiled back, reaching up and gripping his hand.

Clearing his throat, he gave her a nod and stepped forward to look at the waiting crowd of students, well, hopeful students. "May I have your attention, please? Out in the forest behind me, are 24 symbols just like this one," He lifted his hand, displaying a chess piece, "they won't all look the same, but I'm sure you can understand the idea I'm presenting to you. Now, some of them may be in the possession of Grimm. Others will be stowed away in hiding, and others still are in the possession of some of your potential upperclassmen. As a hunter or huntress, you may not always have to face off against mindless beasts. You will be tried by bandits and ne'erdowells as you go about the wider world attempting to make it a better place. Occasionally, you may simply need to conquer the environment. To that end, we have tailored the challenges appropriately so that there is a challenge that encompasses all manner of things you might encounter in your career." He gestured behind him with the tiny chess piece, "You have several options to get into the forest. You may use this… launcher," his tone took on a rather disappointed touch, and Pyrrha snickered, "you may travel around the gorge to enter it further to the south, you may simply jump or climb down from here if your Aura permits it… or we have a Bullhead that will take you to the middle of the forest waiting back at the launch pad. Each approach has its advantages and fall backs. Regardless, by the end of the day any students who have not returned to the main hall with a piece in tow will be considered to have failed the exam. So without further ado, Ms. Nikos?"

"The clock is started. You may go."

The students burst off in all manner of directions. Jaune was excited to see how this year was going to turn out. Judging by his companions expression, the other teachers likely were as well.


	2. Chapter 2: Forestry at its Finest

**So I should probably preface that I post arbitrarily. I know that is horrible for readers, but I enjoy cranking things out on occasion and you all at least get to  
benefit from that when it happens.**

**Also, where I'm working from doesn't load the entire editing page... so I have to guess at the buttons to get those horizontal lines in. That's why this one has a slightly better formatting to it.**

**Sue me.**

**This chapter is sort of all over the place, but I'm hoping to settle into a bit more of a stern rhythm as we go forward. Maybe pepper in fewer characters to a  
chapter or do solo focuses so I can try to bring the instructors in, which I want to do pretty badly.**

**That being said, I apologize if this particular chapter is just... chaotic. I liked it, so I made it. Not to mention my editing process likely leaves a lot to be  
desired. (I literally just re-read my stuff until I feel like it sounds intelligible). If there are extremely minor spelling errors, I would like to apologize.  
I've worked over this chapter pretty carefully on Word Document... but apparently sometimes when I put it in there is a stray and missing the 'n'. Or little  
things like that. I apologize. I'm horrible.  
I will, however, do my best to ensure those little oddities are remedied to the best of my ability.  
**

**Also, welcome to my first preface. Neat.**

**I should probably be pumping material out at a roughly 2-3 day pace for the next two months or so. Meaning if you're interested, good news!  
I also appreciate any feedback which can be thrown to me, I digest it all. Good, bad, there is always something to learn from it.  
Probably should have put this in the first chapter... oh well.**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

The girl, who looked entirely too pretty to be involving herself with something like Beacon, practically skipped to the edge of the cliff and looked down, "Cabot, dear, do you think we should just get right in there so we can finish up nice and quick?"

She turned around to a young man, carrying a rather interesting looking bow which had a bladed body. He offered her a slight smile before looking down over the cliff himself.

"Sure thing Liv, anything for you," He drew his bow back, aiming at one of the trees below.

"Olivia, I hate when you try to nickname me," she sighed, placing her hand on his shoulder.

She felt her body warm up just a little as she activated her semblance. It always worked better if she imprinted someone as opposed to just let all that energy just ooze off of her in the vicinity. Now that he would be appropriately _motivated_ she was certain they'd do just fine down there.

After all, what was the worst that could happen?

The pair stepped off the ledge, and Olivia gripped Cabot in both arms as they fell. His arms remained steadied as they fell from the cliff. She felt her long brown hair slap against her face in the wind, and for a moment she found it to be a rather invigorating experience. Until her mind once again remembered they'd leapt off a cliff. Digging her hands in harder, she waited for the seizing moment that she was aware waited in their near future.

Cabot spun in her grip, quickly firing the bow several times below them. The raw force from the dust shots physically slowed them down, causing their fall to hitch every time he drew the bow back. After a handful of shots, they landed hard, rolling forward as their aura absorbed the rest of the impact. Coming up on his feet, he reached down to help Olivia up.

"Easy enough, now let's get going. These other eager beavers might steal my quarry."

Olivia smiled, gesturing for him to lead the way. The moment he turned to escort her into the woods, she sighed silently and brushed hair from her face. Reaching to the plates on her hips, she pulled them off and attached them to her arms by the straps that had held them in place moments ago. They spun dramatically, but quickly, and opened into two circular bucklers with red dust swirling in the knots on their face. Smiling ever so slightly, she followed his steps carefully as she watched the other students who had elected to take their same carefree and dangerous route.

See, she wasn't particularly a fighter. She prided herself in her ability to get around the fighting itself and support her teammates. Her semblance lent itself nicely to such an arrangement as well. She had been stressed about a combat test from the moment they'd arrived at the academy, but she nestled up to one of the young men who'd rode in on the bullhead with her the moment they had alone time in the cafeteria. She'd learned his name was Cabot, and with a couple of flirty comments and a bit of prodding, she'd managed to obtain his cooperation.

Regardless, a gentle touch on the skin was all she needed to deploy her semblance, which she had dubbed Hormone. With a little touch she could, _invigorate,_ a teammate and give them a little push in their ability. It didn't work on her, and without a direct target, it would affect just about anyone around her to a small degree, but imprinting it on someone, as she liked to call it, would amplify the effect. Not only that, it would funnel those emotions and feelings directly to that individual.

Honestly, it made her feel a little guilty. She wasn't particularly useful outside of her semblance, which in itself was only really useful in the hands of a sufficiently capable fighter. Still, she knew better than to open her mouth about such things. Her job was to be the background support, the encouraging voice, someone to cover your back in a tough fight. It wasn't her job to do the fighting, and besides, these people came here to work on things like this. That meant it wasn't wrong of her to work with them like this, right?

They walked rather aimlessly for several minutes and nothing of interest had happened yet. She found it to be particularly boring. The other students she could make out didn't have any better luck either. Wasn't this forest supposed to be crawling with Grimm and various second and third year students to get in their hair and carry the little tokens they needed to get back out of this place? Sighing, she prepared to encourage Cabot to look in another direction, when all hell broke loose.

Within seconds an entire pack of beowolves fell upon them and the other nearby students. She hadn't seen or heard anything up until that moment, and the snarling that triggered the pack to leap upon them brought a shrill cry to her lips. She wheeled her back to a tree almost instantly and lifted both her shields up defensively as clouds of black fur with shimmering red eyes seemed to erupt from every direction. She could hear the other students panicking and yelling and fighting, she could even see Cabot having a particularly heated wrestling match with one of the massive creatures.

It had seized his bow in its mouth, having fallen from a tree above him with just enough warning for him to bring it up between them. He thrashed about bravely as the beowolf, roughly the same size as him, fought for dominance and to free its mouth of the metal haft. He shrugged himself up off the floor and managed to put the beast on its back. With a single swift motion, he stood up and placed his foot on the beast's throat before ripping the bow's bladed end against its face several times. The sawing motion tore more of the creature's face apart with each pull until it stopped fighting back.

However, as soon as he tried to gather his wits, two more set upon him and he was quickly pulled to the ground as his struggling continued.

She considered stepping up to assist, but she knew that if she sat still and quietly and stayed as calm as possible, they wouldn't notice her with all the flaring emotions around her. In fact, she was counting on it. Instead, she watched as these second two Grimm, who didn't have the true element of surprise anymore, were disposed of much more easily.

One of them had gripped the center of the bow's haft as it used its raw strength to push Cabot onto his back. Snarling, it tried to close its mouth around his hands, but was unable to do so with the bow thrust all the way to the back of its jaw. The other beowolf had managed to injure itself when it clasped down on one of the blades and cut its mouth painfully. It leapt back, instead waiting for an opening in the struggle before it.

As the beast forced him across the ground, he lifted his legs up and jammed them into the pit of its forelegs, bracing himself in one position. Reaching up, he drew back the string and released an arrow. It blew through the creature, killing it instantly and tearing a vicious hole in the back of the beast. Rolling along the ground, he drew a second time and fired one towards Olivia.

It all happened in slow motion for Olivia. She had her eyes wide as she saw her companion's smirking face. The arrow seemed destined to spear her delicate little head into the tree and she almost blinked as she attempted to react to the projectile which flew far faster than her reflexes could ever hope to engage. Then she watched as it seemed to curve before her very eyes, ripping around to the side and turning all the way back to spear the diving beowolf through the side of its head. Then, the arrow exploded, leaving a headless body skidding towards Cabot.

She was very happy she was already wearing yellow.

"That was pretty intense," he responded, picking himself up and peering around.

He fired a few arrows off at targets Olivia couldn't see from where she sat. Not that she was looking around. Shock had washed over her completely. He walked over and offered her a hand, which she blankly took to help her to her feet. She could feel the uncomfortable wetness of pissing herself between her legs, but a quick glance down didn't show the evidence so she did her best to ignore it.

"Yeah, let's never do that again. I thought you were going to kill me." She looked up to him, star struck and still slightly lost in the moment as he used her hand to pull her away from the area.

"I told you, I can guide my arrows with my semblance. That they're running on dust only makes it easier since they're already desperate to be manipulated. You're safe so long as you stay with me." He smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder and offering a light squeeze.

Olivia simply nodded, shaking her head a little to try and throw the daze off.

"Did either of them-"

"Nah, just small fries, used to run into some of those around our home when dad and I'd go hunting. Just got surprised is all. They're a little bigger, but not by much," He grinned confidently over his shoulder, "Let's keep going."

"Are we going to help the others?" She asked, glancing around. Some of the other students were having a bit of a more difficult time. Some of them were even finishing up their own fights and moving to assist others around them. She glanced back to Cabot uncertainly, but he seemed intent on forging ahead.

"They'll be fine. This is a monitored test after all. We should keep going and see what else we can find. After all, we both need a token before we can leave." He smiled gesturing over his shoulder, "Come on, we have work to do. This time I won't let them sneak up on us."

"Alright, if you say so," she replied, glancing around one final time before following his lead into the forest. She kept her shields ready as they moved. He may say that, but she didn't trust that they might not be snuck up on a second time.

* * *

She thought coming to an academy for hunters would yield something resembling competition, but so far she hadn't seen anyone who would possibly measure up to her. Scowling at the surrounding students who were still struggling with a handful of pint sized beowolves, she lifted the chain attached to the other end of her kusarigama with her right hand and started towards the next pack which was prowling around. Sure, the other students might be scared, or stressed, or worried, but she was positively depressed and bitter. She was easily the most appetizing target on the field.

Picking up her pace, one careful step at a time, she accelerated to a jog, and then a full on sprint as she charged head long pack of beowolves. If they had real thoughts, they likely would have been surprised to have their prey descending upon them. They also would have greatly wished they hadn't thought such incorrect things a moment afterwards. Like a women possessed, she spun the ball, which had built up considerable speed, and crushed the mask and skull of one of the beasts, deforming its body with the force of the blow.

Her slender body ducked under the next Grimm who dived over her head. She lifted her left hand upwards and twisted her wrist, disemboweling the creature as its own weight and momentum dragged its stomach over the blade of the kama end of her weapon. As it cleared her, she shifted on her heel, kicking up a bit of earth as she practically drew a line with the weight of her step, and flung the massive ball out. It pulled taut on the chain, which she gripped with her freshly freed hand, and she directed the momentum of the weapon into one of the other beasts. As the chain went limp, she practically danced to her right as the final wolf lunged in and bit at the air. Roaring out triumphantly, she half wheeled her arms and dug the blade into the top of the beast's head as best she could. It didn't quite gain a purchase, but the force of the blow pushed its maw into the dirt. Kicking her leg up, she tangled the chain around it to shorten it, and then seized the last bit of slack with her hand. In one swift, violent motion, she heaved the ball over head and used it to pound the kama into beasts skull. It went still.

Taking a deep breath, she unwound herself from the chain and slung it over her shoulder in order to cart the head-sized ball around more easily. Digging the kama out of the dirt, as the grimm had practically disintegrated immediately. She scoffed, "Damn mom, I thought you said this kind of shit was going to be hard."

She gnashed her extremely sharp teeth a few times, a distinct snapping sound emitting from the force of her jaw closing. Tilting her head, she made eye contact with a strange pair of individuals. One of them, a girl, was wearing all yellow, it was atrocious. The other, a boy, was wearing some green-brown hooded get up like some knock off Raban Hood from the hero series on tv she remembered watching as a child. So stupid.

"Guess you didn't need help," The dorky looking boy said, smiling confidently.

"If I needed help with something, I highly doubt you'd be capable of providing it." She snarled in reply, snapping her teeth loudly.

The girl immediately skipped up in surprise, grabbing his arm. Good, she should be scared. This was dangerous stuff, and prudence was everything. Unless you were as good as she was.

"Mind if I ask your name?" The girl practically squeaked from behind the man. Worthless, but not impolite.

"Gracie. Now either get to gathering me more things to kill, or get the hell out of my way."

"Have you seen any big Grimm?" She asked tentatively, leaning out from behind her partner for a moment.

"If I had, I'd have either killed it, or I'd still be trying. So take your own guess. I'm going back to hunting."

Gracie immediately turned and started towards the North West. She knew the deepest part of the forest was that way. She'd either find some of the upperclassmen, or she'd find some big grimm. Either way, that was her next destination.

Besides, the little skittish couple hadn't noticed the eyes of the alpha that had cropped up in the woods in that direction. She was about to put to work tracking that. Dropping into a jog, she disappeared into the brush.

* * *

"What a rude woman." Cabot frowned.

"She was a Faunas, technically," Olivia corrected him, watching Gracie disappear into the brush, "I think she was some kind of dog thing."

"What makes you say that?"

"She kept gnashing her teeth. And you heard her jaw snap down? I guarantee she could use that as a weapon."

"So should we go elsewhere?"

"No, I think we should follow her. If nothing else, we can pick up the pieces she leaves behind. It might even be fun," she offered a small giggle as she pinched him slightly. She renewed her bond in order to ensure he would agree.

* * *

Gracie breathed heavily her as she pulled her blade from the alpha and moved towards the middle of its body where the metal ball waited. Wiping sweat from her brow she quickly began walking North East again. She could smell the couple following her easily. One of them had wet themselves. She considered it would be fun teasing them, but she was more concerned with sorting out her token and finding someone to call a rival. She would likely have time to do it once classes start, but she would prefer to find them now rather than later.

Sniffing the air, she found another scent on the wind, sweeping in on her from ahead. Lifting a foot and resting it on one of the trees, she took another deep breath through her nose. A knowing smile quickly washed over her face as she peered around. It was close, but not close enough to spot. Likely in a clearing somewhere up ahead or something. She gnashed her teeth excitedly, a slight dribble of drool at the edge of her mouth. Without further ado, she took off towards the scent with renewed vigor.

The smell? Sweat and battle. Her favorite smell.

* * *

"She is really trucking, isn't she?" Cabot practically wheezed. Olivia frowned. She might need to switch partners, if only to give him a chance to pace this fight out. Her semblance was inadvertently forcing him to be a little too hard on himself.

"We can slow down. It isn't like we won't be able to find her. She's practically tearing the forest down around her." Glancing around, it was easy to agree with her.

Wherever Gracie went, she was plowing the brush down around her. Her weapon occasionally smashing bark off the nearby trees and her heavy footsteps left tracks an infant could follow.

"I guess. I'll be honest, I could use some air." Cabot slowed to a walk, immediately leaning against his knees as he did.

She pat him softly on the back, frowning. She just wasn't cut out for using people, as much as she tried. Just like always, she felt guilty the moment anything actually starts. Sighing, she let him catch his breath as she tipped her eyes towards the path they'd be following.

In reality, she was a little scared of following too closely anyway. That woman seemed dangerous.

* * *

Bursting into the clearing, Gracie came upon a most amazing sight. A man and a woman were duking it out with a deathstalker. She would have jumped in, if she wasn't immediately taken up with what was going on at the far end of the clearing. Instead, she decided to take a few seconds to take the entire scene in.

To her right, a man with a gunblade was shifting around the outside of the main fight firing off projectiles at the deathstalker. At the head of it, a woman with a mace and a shield was crying all manner of profanity into the air as she duked it out with the creature's massive claws. It scored her a few times, scraping over the shield and drawing blood in a few spots as it battled with her. Yet, for all of the yelling, it seemed a fairly even match.

Off to the left, and quite a clip away, she saw a single man whipping two menacing looking whips or something around him as he danced away from two different older women who were very ferociously laying into him with attacks. Neither side appeared to be winning, or even scoring hits on each other, but she couldn't help but find it to be the more interesting of the two fights. Not to mention, she recognized the man from the cafeteria yesterday. He'd walked in, looked around, and then left. It was odd to think one of the students slept somewhere else, but she knew without a doubt he was down here for the same reason as her.

Which meant his opponents were holding tokens.

And she needed tokens.

Grinning, she planted one foot triumphantly as she prepared to charge. She started spinning the ball in her right hand, letting it take up some slack so it could really get turning. Leaning forward slightly, she let the natural pull of the heavy object start her charge. Every step with her left foot dug into the dirt as it fought the backward pull on the spin. Right before she could join the fray, however, another student crashed into the dirt in front of her with such force it threw her backwards. She barely managed to catch herself on her heels and right her weight. "What gives you lummox?"

"That battle's closed. You want in, you gotta go through me." He grinned, drawing two overly large weapons. At least, they would have been large for a normal person. He was massive, to the point of it almost not making sense. He was practically seven feet tall and appropriately broad as to be referred to as a tank.

"Then you better be good enough to keep me occupied. I don't entertain easily, and that looks way more fun."

"Then let's get this started." He charged almost immediately, his blades coming down on the spot she'd been standing in.

Kicking back, she tossed the metal ball into the air and used its weight to give her a little more distance. Coming back down, she used gravity to start the spin for her weapon as she sized up her opponent. Then she countered, roaring viciously through gritted teeth as she swung the ball wide to the side. Several other students, who had been lurking out of sight in the tree line, decided now would be an opportune time to rush in and assist.

The second year leaned forward gracefully, the ball sailing over his head. It hit the students, who quickly realized how poor their decision was as the massive weapon clobbered them and swatted them back into the woods. Turning, without missing a beat, Gracie slapped her free arm into the chain to cut its angle short, bringing it back around faster and closer as she dipped her own body down to avoid it wrapping around her waist.

This time, the second year had to block it directly with his blades, but he only managed to glance it off, altering its angle. With a graceful swatting motion as she stepped forward several paces, she shortened the chain again as she spun her body around and activated her semblance.

The whole world seemed to fade for a half second and she could see things much more clearly. It was almost like there were tiny targets that her mind drew her eye towards. In this instance, she was looking at her metal ball. Just a little off the top, she spotted the weakness she needed. Lifting her leg, she smashed it down as the ball came close, burying it into the dirt with deadly precision. Continuing the natural motion of the axe kick, she shifted into a flip, winding the chain across both her arms so that when she touched the ground it was so taut that her own body weight snatched it off the ground and got it spinning again.

Grinning with her razor sharp teeth, she twisted her body and unwound the chain, turning the spin from vertical to horizontal. The second year was immediately on the defensive, and none too pleased about it, as he retreated, step by step, to avoid getting his aura battered by the massive ball. It was impossible to close in on her, as she altered the chain's length arbitrarily as she stepped. At times it was long, keeping him back, but if he tried to slip in under it, a quick spin or an adjustment of her arms quickly shortened the trajectory of the deadly projectile to keep him crouched low.

He grit his teeth as it looked like she had finally caught him. His foot caught on a root and he stumbled, not quite pulling the distance he hoped for with that step. Right as the ball was about to hit him, she coiled her arm through the chain twice and slapped it to the ground. Her body was so tightly entangled that the force of the weapon flung her body upwards in a vertical arc. He glanced up, both his blades on the ground and out of reach as her eyes glinted in the sunlight and she brought the kama down.

"You're open!"

The man grinned, air exploding from his entire body and throwing the faunas backwards.

Gracie unwound across her chain, rolling over the ground several feet before she managed to get her blade into the dirt to stop herself. Glancing up, she wiped dirt off her face as the second year stood up.

"Close but no cigar. My Semblance allows me to emit a massive wave of air to get some space." He grinned, standing up and stepping on the chain near the ball, "Now it's my turn."

* * *

"Hold on Christy! I've gotta reload!," The black haired boy skid to a stop, glancing up as he snapped his gunblade forward in his hand.

The gladius like edge clicked forward and forcibly ejected the revolving six shell chamber at the base of the blade. Grabbing at his belt, he snatched a couple of dust shells and punched them in authoritatively. Content he was ready to rock again, he snapped his wrist up towards his shoulder to close the blade again.

This was not at all how he'd envisioned his day going.

One minute, he'd just been tramping along, hoping to find some ruins, grab his token, and do a little bit of recon on the other students. Throw his semblance out, see what he was dealing with, and maybe watch them fight. Instead, this red-haired maniac came barreling past him like a kid in a candy store, snatched him by his arm, and hollered something about Grimm hunting.

Now here he was, facing down a deathstalker with a woman he could hardly understand and was entirely too excited about the whole ordeal.

Not to mention shortly after they'd gotten started, a few of the upperclassmen showed up and started watching on in the distance. They didn't want to interfere and make things too complicated, but he was so certain they were going to have to fight with them as soon as they'd finished off the massive scorpion Grimm they'd wrangled. Hell, that was half the reason he'd joined in instead of sitting back. He didn't want them to pull him aside and start cracking his skull in while Christy was stuck fighting alone.

That'd just be rude on everyone's part.

Luckily, some other guy rushed onto the scene with his slicked back hair and a wild expression on his face and took it to the upperclassmen without hesitating. He had to admit, that took some balls. Still, he elected that there was no way in hell he was going to join in on _that_ particular outing. It just wasn't his style. Not to mention when he experimentally copied the new guy's semblance he found that it was, for all intents and purposes, worthless.

Well, not everyone had a good one.

As he squared up and let another dust round power up his gunblade, he watched some psychotic looking woman come barging into the clearing. For a half second, he thought she was going to jump in and help, but instead she took off for the upperclassmen. Fine by him, but it wasn't doing Christy any favors.

Turning back to the task at hand, he darted in under one of the pincers and jabbed his blade up to throw it off its swing. The gunblade exploded with a cacophonous booming sound as it pushed the deathstalker's claw up and over Christy's head. Shifting his weight to get his feet under him, he scampered between the clattering legs as he assessed his next option. For now, he needed to get out of here. As he scurried, he suddenly realized he had a lot more space over his head. Glancing up as he went, he realized the beast had lifted its torso to address the threat beneath it.

He lifted his arms defensively as he waited to be crushed by the body, but a loud metallic clattering rang in his ears instead. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw Christy had stepped up and raised her shield to forcibly hold the creature up and prevent it from crushing her impromptu partner, "Hey Xavier, Ya gonna get outta there or ya jus gonna sit there admirin' how heroic I look!" She snarled, reaching up with her mace to batter at the creature's chittering mouth.

She didn't need to ask him twice, as he swiftly slid out beneath the creature, giving it a healthy cut on one of its legs as he went. There was a momentary flare as the flame-empowered weapon struck its target, then a small popping sound as it cooked the black flesh beneath its chitin carapace. The beast squealed loud, a screeching sound that he imagined he'd never forget for as long as he lived, and it clattered backwards to reorient itself now that one of its legs had been rendered useless.

It snarled, the two students squaring off in front of the beast, "Ah think we oughtta try 'an turn it about and get rid of that tail. It ain't used it yet, but I'm feelin' he's bout to drop it on mah head at any moment, ya think?" Xavier turned towards the woman and gave her a slight nod. He tilted his head to the woman swinging her ball and chain around psychotically and then turned back to the scorpion.

"What if we try and push it back into their fight and try to force them to draw some of its attention?" he asked breathlessly, readjusting his shirt a little as they circled the massive scorpion.

"Nah, tha's cowards work. We got 'em right where we wan'em. Jus' gotta give her a little push."

"Alright, throw me on its back and I'll either cut its tail off, or see if I can get it to stab itself. With you in front, it'll have to fight you with its claws."

"Now tha's a plan! I'll get his attention, jus' holler when ya go ta leap." She grinned wildly.

He sighed, and before he could even draw a breath to replace it, she had barreled back in screaming some unintelligible battle cry. At the very least, he could respect her for that. She was unflaggable despite having spent the first half of the fight getting swatted around like a fly. Bouncing in place a few times to get prepared, or as he would have said to someone next to him, checking his shocks, he sprinted in as she batted one of the claws and set up an opening.

"CHRISTY, NOW!" He lifted one leg and leapt into the air.

She crouched down and picked her shield up over her head. Stepping on it, she stood up forcefully as he leapt from the extended leg. The combined force threw him high into the air and he flipped slowly over head. Bracing his arm, he fired the rest of the fire dust in the current chamber on his gun and flicked the switch to select the next chamber and fire his gunblade up. It lit up yellow and he finished his flip to land majestically on the creature's back.

He was tempted to extend his arms and await applause, but he knew better. Turning, he prepared to take a step forward towards the tail when suddenly the very part of the body he was going to target started raining down on him with rapid, powerful, violent blows. He shifted around the piercing tail and fought his balance and the momentum around him as it attempted to herd him towards its mouth, pincers, and a location that would altogether give it a distinct advantage over him. Scowling, he dodged the next one by rolling further towards its back.

"CHRISTY CAN YOU FUCKING HIT THE DAMN THING!" He screamed out as he split his legs and narrowly avoided getting speared by the tail as it came down again.

Pushing himself back with his hands, he avoided it three more times before he heard the distinct chittering of its mouth. Rolling to the side, he realized it had chased him all the way to its maw and he'd very nearly dropped his head into it. Stupid, stupid stupid. Twisting his eyes up to Christy, he made eye contact and activated his semblance, copying hers for his own use.

He'd watched her long enough to know how it worked, and he lifted his weapon to prime the damn thing. If she was going to be stuck on the defensive then he'd just do it his damn self. Stabbing it through one of its eyes, he withdrew his blade and dodged another tail strike. Launching to his feet, a solid strike already prepared, he grinned as the tail came down again. Side stepping it, he lifted his blade and let the two meet.

The semblance he'd copied appeared to amplify your strikes if used on the same target, essentially doubling your force on consecutive attacks. It didn't seem to extend beyond a strike or two, but all he needed was a little bit of extra juice to pull of this particular trick. The raw force of the tail strike, compounded with the force of his previous strike, topped by him swinging his own weapon up at the tail, combined to create such overwhelming power that he split the offending limb down the middle. Then, at the apex of the strike, he pulled the trigger on his gunblade to discharge the entirety of the dust chamber.

"Boom."

The resulting lightning crackle blew the entire back end of the scorpion apart, a chain reaction contained by its thick hide that rippled all the way to its abdomen. It reeled and screeched, kicking back with astounding force. Xavier was tossed into the air, spinning and flipping majestically before landing confidently beside Christy. He placed his left hand on his hip and rested his gunblade on his shoulder, the weapon still smoking from the sheer force of the discharge. The scorpion fell onto its stomach and twitched a few times before coming to a rest and beginning to dissipate.

Marching over to the dissipating corpse, he picked up a tiny Rook token and turned it around in his hands a few times before waving it over his shoulder and pocketing it. Turning around, Xavier looked over to Christy. She swapped her mace into her shield hand and extended her free hand into the air. Grinning, he walked over and slapped it triumphantly.

"Right! Let's get the next one the same way."

"Wait, sorry, what?" He paused, his hand slowly falling to his side, "Next one?"

"Yeah, you know, them!" She gestured with her mace over to the two Ursa that had wandered into the clearing and were beginning to eye them aggressively.

He sighed aggressively as he glanced into the pouch at his hip, "Well, I'm out of dust so… that's not happening again."

"Then we do it my way!"

"I'm afraid to ask, wha-"

"WE BASH IN THERE FAAKIN' SKULLS!" She tossed her mace into her free hand, rapped it against her shield as she roared into the sky again, and barreled wildly towards the Ursa.

This was definitely going to be a 'take a bath day' when he got back to Beacon.

* * *

Jack rose up from the hole he had been exploring. Raising his hand to the sky, he held the tiny rook between his fingers and grinned at it. Tossing it up into the air, he grabbed it and then swiftly stuffed it in his pocket. What a fantastic adventure this had already been! Sure, he hadn't seen any Grimm on his way here, or while he sailing through the sky, or while he was in the hole, but still. All is well that ends well right? He found a _gorgeous_ cave filled with these wonderful purple crystals lining the walls and ceilings!

If he hadn't found the token inside, he'd have thought for certain he was the first person to wander in there.

Honestly, he was a little disappointed when he found the token, but he'd settle for knowing at least someone else out there had seen such a beautiful thing. Still, he'd probably be better off getting back on task. He had what he'd been sent to get but there was still plenty of the day left. Whereas he could go exploring, he would probably be better served seeing what the other students were doing. Maybe lend a hand here or there, but he'd have to pick through the forest and have fun exploring on another day.

Stretching out, he cracked his neck and peered around. He hadn't been out there that long now that he thought about it. I mean, he pretty much hit jackpot right from the first moment. Jumped on the launcher, because come on, how many times are you going to get thrown headlong over a forest full of Grimm, treasure, and secret little hiding places? How anyone took one of the boring routes was beyond his understanding. Then, he'd missed anything resembling solid ground and plummeted directly into a giant hole in the ground. Then, boom! Right into a small ruined building inside the cave, and there was the token!

It was less he found the cave and more the cave swallowed him up on arrival, but the best adventures found you in the end. He'd spent the whole hour or so he'd been 'in the forest' working his way out of the cave. From his best guess, it was _probably_ an old dust mine, and the crystals left behind were just quartz or something else that no one really had a use for, except him of course. They caught the daylight really nicely and refracted it all over! He imagined it was even prettier by moonlight, but with where it sat in the forest, he'd probably have to wait until the middle of summer for everything to line up right.

Now, he was headed in the direction of what appeared to be smoke. At least, that's what he hoped it was. Like, what if the Bullhead had crashed, a terrible Grimm had trapped the students who'd taken it, and it was soaring around overhead keeping them hostage. Then, he could swoop in and coordinate a heroic rescue! It would be amazing! If he was lucky, he might impress a few of the upperclassmen, assist a few of his peers, earn a bit of kudos in the process.

Although the danger and excitement would probably be more amazing in his opinion, it was important to cultivate a positive opinion. That's how you get renown!

Bursting into the clearing after a hearty run, he didn't even have a chance to blink before throwing himself out of the way of a bullet. Beginning to pick himself up off the ground, he quickly tried to take in his surroundings. The only other thing in the clearing, besides a wrecked bullhead, was the girl he'd bumped into that very morning. She was leaned back defensively amongst the wreckage with wide eyes and her teeth in plain view as she panicked. She was practically shaking, but her shot had been perfect. If he hadn't had his semblance to save him, he'd have sacrificed a healthy amount of Aura to ward off a shot like that!

"Well how are you! Everything okay over here? That was pretty close," He grinned from his place on the ground.

He elected to appeal to her without moving. She was clearly spooked, but that hadn't done a thing to compromise her shot. He didn't want to rely on reflexes and his danger senses any more than he had to.

"No!" She called back, her gun still leveled at him.

Her eyes started to dart around, there was a measure of cognizance to their movement, but they still held that same horrified expression. It was strange, he could tell she was drinking in her surroundings with a tactical eye, evaluating every aspect of the clearing, yet she didn't seem to calm down at all.

"Okay," he yelled back, his hands still fanned out passively, "Can you tell me what happened?"

"There was no pilot, and as I came over the forest, the autopilot steered the bullhead into the ground and crashed it."

"Okay, where are the others?"

"I was the only one." She slowly stood up now, inching towards him. She took one careful step after another in his direction.

"How long have you been here?" Jack asked, slowly picking himself up off the ground.

Her weapon was no longer aimed at him, instead circling the clearing as she came closer to him step by step. He joined her in peering around the clearing as she finally came alongside him. She never responded to his question, instead dropping to her knee and leveling her weapon at some invisible threat. The silence was palpable, and considering he didn't have a weapon he could ready in the same way, he just stood there wired for battle, peering around. To be honest, he felt stupid.

"Uh, what are you looking for?" He asked at last, hoping to direct himself upon something so he didn't have to keep aimlessly staring at nothing.

"I saw a pack of second years slip by earlier. I also saw one of our peers snake in behind them. They seemed intent on finding something." Jack slowly looked over his shoulder as Sam spoke.

Now that she had someone at her side, and she'd pulled herself from the wreckage of the bullhead, she appeared much calmer. As if the idea of giving orders to someone seemed to calm her. Like the sudden support managed to steady her into something that was battle ready and focused. He damn near whistled with how impressed he was at her flip around. Still, he wasn't going to say anything, what if it jarred her out of her haze? He was going to risk that, not with a battle hiding somewhere nearby.

"Well alright then," Jack whispered at her, "Which way did they go?"

"North, so we shou-"

"Head North, obviously. We can't just leave our fellow students stranded!" Jack said, grinning at her. Her face said differently. It was almost disappointed in him.

"I was going to say towards the East and circle around. We'll have better tree cover for my rifle and plenty of areas with which to use my semblance to its maximum effectiveness. It will also give you a free route to engage them however you wish."

"Oh, yeah, I guess that's a good plan too. I was just hoping to get right in there and start cracking skulls."

"Why waste the element of surprise? Come on, follow me."

* * *

Sam huffed as they moved from tree to tree on their approach. How could someone be so reckless when they had such fantastic reflexes and a solid approach? In fact, why was she bringing him along in the first place? She should have just let him charge, willy nilly, into the briars. Meanwhile, she could have just slide through the underbrush, climbed into a tree, and had a heyday with whatever was lurking up ahead.

Instead, she'd dragged this feisty little ankle biter along for the ride. He would probably jump out at his first opportunity and spoil any chance she had of staying hidden and getting the high ground in a tree somewhere. Honestly, she knew she had been better off alone. Just creep along, pick off some Grimm, and keep praying she finds a token among her work.

As they approached the clearing, the distinct sounds of battle whoops and combat echoing into the woods, she turned to Jack and gave him a signal. She pointed towards the clearing, then back to him, then in a direction away from her, but still along the tree line. Then she turned her back to him and continued along the eastern edge as she started debating where she would place her semblance.

* * *

Jack wasn't entirely sure what she wanted him to do, but he imagined it was about time they split up. Giving her a nod, doing his best to look like he understood her orders, he started in the opposite direction of her, tracing the border of the nearby clearing. He crept in close enough that he could pick out what was going on within and grinned in anticipation that he would soon be joining the battle.

It was everything he'd expect from hunters in training.

A man with slick hair and rather unusually sharp dress was having a rather heated confrontation with two huntresses who appeared to be getting the best of him. He weaved in and out of their attacks, but for all his agility and smirking he didn't have anything resembling an opening and he certainly hadn't retaliated in any fashion. It was almost upsetting to watch, but he contained himself from joining the fight as he took in the rest of the scene.

A little further from that fight, a large man with two blades was fighting a woman swinging a massive ball on a chain. She was pretty big too, for a woman. Her muscles rippled and her voice boomed as she forced her opponent back towards the other three he'd noted just a moment ago. It looked like quite a scrap, but he was finally glad he'd taken Sam's advice. Their fourth member hadn't shown themselves, and the last thing he needed to do was mix himself up without knowing where their last member was. It was certainly the kind of predicament that would have a trap sprung upon him.

After all, that is what he'd do in that scenario.

Panning further to the edge of the clearing, he saw a veritable wave of Grimm descending upon a trio of fighters. Two of them appeared to be holding their own; in fact they were taking the fight to the shadowy beasts and forcing them back to the far Northern edge of the clearing. The last fighter was practically still in the line of trees like himself, offering an arrow here or there to assist, but not in any way that was impactful. If he hadn't known any better, the archer was more focused on trying to keep things away from him.

Suddenly, an armored man erupted from right over his shoulder and charged angrily towards the Grimm. Jack practically screamed right at that moment from the suddenness of the being's arrival. His senses didn't alert him to anything, so clearly he wasn't the target, but it didn't change the fact that it was startling. The armored hunter was wielding two hatchets, one in either hand, and he was coated in the black blood that occasionally erupted from a particularly violent Grimm kill.

Jack blinked, unsure what to make of the situation.

He had stopped circling the clearing and taken up a position to watch the carnage for a few moments. His mind was racing as he attempted to determine if he was scared, astounded, or just too dazed to move. A lot had just happened, and this clearing was getting particularly intense. The hunters dueling off to his left were now being forced back by their seniors, and the fight was slowly closing out the path he'd have to take if he were going to launch in and assist the Grimm slaughter that was taking place on the far end of the clearing.

Biting his own tongue, he shook his head and pulled himself from his stupor. He leaned forwards and vaulted from the woods with his own approximation of a battle cry. Raking his thumb across the fingers of his gauntlet, he reached up and punched the air. A clearly visible threat of dust thread whipped out and grabbed hold of a tree near the surging line of Grimm and he was snatched off his feet towards the battle up ahead.

Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.

* * *

Sam had finally gotten herself all set up.

She'd surveyed the battlefield, picked out what was and was not a target, and assessed the actions she would take if an opportunity presented itself. Jack hadn't revealed himself, so perhaps he was more prudent than she'd given him credit for, but she would witho-

And there he goes, as predicted, blindly into the combat ahead.

At least he'd given her a chance to setup first, not that he was aware of such a thing. Cracking her neck, making a mental check of where her shots would be coming from if she used her semblance during the upcoming firefight, and at last she realized everything was in order. Leaning forward on the sturdy branch she'd chosen to start her battle from, she peered down the scope of her long rifle as her slender legs wrapped around the branch in order steady her shots.

Her first shot misdirected the massive sword fighter's right blade, throwing off his parry as the massive ball and chain battered him to the side. The woman who owned the weapon took the opportunity to chase her prey to a position where no more covering fire could be provided. Wrinkling her nose at the development, she turned her attention back to evening the odds for the chain sword wielding idiot who had picked himself two targets.

Pulling the bolt back on her rifle, she fished into her bandolier. Eying the single round she'd produced, she dropped it in and locked the bolt forward with authority. Taking a deep breath, she launched the next round into the dirt a few feet in front of one of the women who was fighting the black haired man. A moment later, the round exploded upwards in a shower of dirt and raised a stone pillar which the huntress promptly face planted into. Sam pulled the bolt back, ejecting the spent casing, then locked the bolt forward once more. Without pausing, she began littering the same huntress she'd impeded with bullet after bullet.

Very few of Sam's attacks actually connected with the woman's Aura, but without a doubt it kept her dancing away from the man she'd pinned down with her friend. Tilting her head slightly, Sam set her head in an extremely awkward position relative to her scope. Her right eye was still snug against the eye piece, but her left eye was practically looking over the top of her rifle. It rolled freely in its socket at that moment, and quickly refocused on the swordsman she had assisted.

With the pressure of the assault lessened, he was able to dance away far easier and create much more space to work with against his opponent. She smiled confidently, her rifle still raining distracting shots on her original target while she watched both battles simultaneously. However, a suddenly flash in the peripheral of her left eye forced her to stop everything all at once.

The fourth senior had finally found her.

Rolling off the branch, her legs pointed skyward as she fell, she swiftly pointed the rifle up in the same direction, the barrel just barely reaching further than her own feet did. One deafening report later and she disappeared entirely.

She was sitting roughly 150 feet from the tree she'd been in previously, sitting in a bush at a crouch. She was completely concealed here, and she was pleased that her semblance had come in handy once again. Watching her previous perch, she observed her ambusher looking around in a panic, their weapon hanging at their side as they tried to determine where she had disappeared to.

It was pretty big and impressive, or at least that is what she thought at that very moment. It looked like a massive axe made of mechanical, almost clockwork, parts. Before she could really study it however, the fighter reached up and slammed a switched on the handle. The axe head contracted, rolled over down the handle, and he stripped it off into a sword and shield. Blinking, she made note that the weapon could transform, and quite quickly at that.

Sneering, she prepared to sneak back off somewhere and reassess the situation when her ambusher suddenly dashed in her direction. Panic immediately set in on her soul and she barreled into the clearing in the hopes of using her slight lead to her advantage. Tilting her head slightly, her left eye turned to look over her shoulder, she hefted her rifle up so the scope lined up with it. Firing rounds over her shoulder to discourage her pursuer, she cried out loudly in the hopes it would all be over soon.

* * *

Honestly, this was the craziest thing Olivia had seen in her entire life. Is that what hunters do all the time? Cabot was a little ahead of her, firing arrows at some of the Grimm who strayed in their direction, but he didn't seem particularly invested in joining the fight itself. She frowned a little, inching closer to him in order to see the clearing better.

Chaos was really the only way she'd describe everything occurring in front of her.

The clearing itself was pretty large, extending a good 600 feet or more to their west and at least 200 or so in a northern direction. She imagined that from overhead, it would resemble a very thin eye. Despite its size, however, there was enough carnage for a full battlefield in her opinion. Or at least, as close as she hopes she ever came to a battlefield.

Directly ahead of her, four of the craziest, most bizarre hunters were squaring off with at least 15 Grimm. Most of them were extra-large Beowolves, but there was one or two Ursa among them, and she knew that at this rate even more would likely arrive. It was like they were a beacon for more of them. The fighters themselves seemed to either be enjoying the struggle, or at the very least weren't having a tough time. One of them, clad head to toe in armor so that you couldn't possibly discern their identity, was roaring vigorously as he threw himself upon the blackened beasts. If she didn't know any better, it almost appeared like they were trying to avoid him as he lusted for battle with every step. A little to the right of that, the other three were gracefully weaving amongst each other as they fought with an awkward grace.

There was a girl shouting all manner of slur and profanity in between bouts of hearty laughter as she bashed any beast in reach with her mace and shield combo. Glued to her side, a young man with a strange blade which had a trigger and a revolving shell cylinder was slipping in and around the red-head's manic swings to cut down anything that was knocked too far off balance. He wasn't as graceful as a fencer or master swordsman, but his motions couldn't be defined as anything other than elegant. The newest addition was some gauntlet wearing man who was throwing needles all around him and battering Grimm left and right with the gauntlet on his right hand. Every so often, he'd punch into the air and go sailing off in that direction on a thread of dust.

A few moments later, Olivia almost jumped out of her clothes when several explosions went off somewhere amongst the Grimm. For a moment, she thought a fifth fighter had joined the fray, but she didn't see anything of the sort after watching for a few more moments. It was like the Grimm were just periodically setting off explosions of fire in their midst. It was amazing, frightening, and altogether a lot to take in.

Tilting her eyes a little further towards the west revealed the other cause for all the commotion.

Four upperclassmen were descending on the other three fighters who were in the clearing. There had been a period of respite for one of them, but he was once more dealing with two of their seniors. The sharply dressed black-haired man danced out of the way of all manner of attacks that from here appeared senseless and unpredictable. Despite the overwhelming amount of pressure being forced down upon him, she caught glimpses of his face as he twisted, twirled, leaned, dipped, and completely dodged the attacks thrown at him.

And he was smiling.

It was bizarre to watch, and she didn't know how to handle someone who smiled in a situation such as his. Even as he was pushed further and further back towards the position she and Cabot had assumed, he seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.

Aside from him, there was that Gracie girl from earlier. She was battling it out with a burly looking hunter who hardly cowed under her relentless assault. Periodically, she saw the same gnashing, snarling teeth which had greeted her and Cabot when they'd first encountered her. It definitely was not a pretty sight, but it was certainly impressive. She had such command from her position on the battlefield that she had actually started to maneuver her battle in such a way as to occasionally force the black-haired man's attackers to avoid her attacks. Without a single word traded, they were slowly beginning to synchronize their positions on the field of combat.

It was seamless and glorious to behold, and Olivia couldn't help her feet as she slowly took a few more steps in the direction of the heated duel.

Her head snapped to the side as a tiny looking girl with a massive long rifle emerged from the forest screaming her head off and firing her weapon, quite literally, over her shoulder. Nipping at her heels was the fourth member of the senior team. He raised his shield defensively, but some of the rounds still managed to pepper his shins and ankles, flicking off his Aura.

Olivia took another step forward as she felt the excitement claw at her heart and beg her to join these hunters in the fray.

She was only broken from her spell when a loud voice called out desperately to her, "Olivia! Look out!"

* * *

Felix wheeled back, both his arms over his head as he sunk under the sweeping blow from the nearly invisible weapon that struck out at him. It looked like a blade, but it reached much further than it appeared. He didn't know if it was a semblance or dust. Either way, now that he'd figured it out, she was never going to hit him with it if she didn't coordinate with her teammate. It was insane to him that a team, who'd spent a whole year together already, wasn't coordinating against him. Or at least, not well enough to overwhelm him. There was no way they weren't at _least_ as talented as he was. Maybe they were overconfident, or believed they actually had him on the ropes, or perhaps they were just going easy on him because he wasn't even technically a first year yet.

Didn't much matter to him, he was going to use that.

His left arm snaked forward as she landed on her feet and attempted to recover from her swing. He watched as she prepared to jump away and let her teammate take over, it was a pretty tired tactic between the both of them at this point. He knew it was coming simply because her weapon had started to retract and fold away into the shotgun which it doubled as. She twisted away from his incoming blade, but not enough to avoid his intentions.

His body almost folded in on itself with how quickly he shifted his weight to get his legs back up under himself. He snatched his arm back just as quickly as he lifted the other to parry the incoming attack. He watched the familiar sparking of his foe's Aura as his blade raked the very edge of it. The flash was brighter now, and he knew she was nearing the end of her rope and it would shatter soon. However, he had more important things at hand.

His torso spun with a practiced grace as he slinked away, putting the new opponent, a green haired bunny faunas, between him and his retreating opponent. He thought one of them had called the other 'Cindy' but it honestly wasn't important. As he slipped blow after blow, he reached out and scraped the faunas' Aura in retaliation with each motion. She was more aggressive and had way more openings than her human partner, but her tonfa leant itself to a more relentless attack pattern than the invisible edged blade her companion used.

Just as he parried a blow, forcing them into a standstill and halting his typical retreating combat style, he heard a voice behind him cry out.

"Olivia! Look out!"

His eyes darted to the side and he saw the reason for the reaction. A man with a massive axe was charging in his direction. Before Felix could react, and while the man still appeared out of range, the weapon smashed into the dirt and the very tip of it opened wide. A bright light started to grow somewhere deep within the weapon and Felix realized things were about to get even spicier. Grinding his teeth together, he prepared to dodge the attack. It was too broadcasted to catch him, and he was in the perfect position to do so now that the faunas was retreating to avoid being caught in the blast of the same attack.

He wheeled on his heel and prepared to leap out of the way, but seized up when he realized there was a girl standing directly behind him. Against his better judgement, and cursing himself for pausing, he realized several things at once.

Firstly, he was no longer going to be able to dodge the attack.

Secondly, this girl didn't seem to be all that alert and would likely eat the blast full force if he did nothing.

Thirdly, he was about to do something incredibly stupid.

Taking two steps in her direction, he smashed into her with his shoulder and butted her out of the way. He reached into the releases on his blade and turned gracefully to face the incoming cannon blast that was now invariably on its way. His chain blade began to extend to its full length, and he pushed as much of his Aura into the blades as he could as he waved his arms through the air. The blades extended and coursed in front of him, and the incoming blast flashed brightly as it collided with the Aura infused weapons.

His last thought before the bright light enveloped him and the smoke and dust that was kicked up blinded him was simple, concise, and extremely disappointed.

"What a shitty way to fail an exam."

* * *

As the final Grimm squared off with the armored man, Jack, Christy, and Xavier watched on as they desperately fought to catch their breaths. He had long since discarded his hatchets and was barehanded. However, when Jack had offered to step up and help him finish the job, he had told them to go search for tokens and leave it to him.

So search they did, and wouldn't you know it? They came up with two more rooks. What a find it was! Turns out they'd managed enough for each other in the midst of the chaos that was such an invigorating battle! He had fought alongside such heroic companions that he had faith this armored fiend would be _just_ fine against the last beowolf.

With a roar on both their parts, they lunged upon each other. The armored man thrust his arms forward and hit the beast with such force that he caught it up on its hind legs, stopping its own charge immediately. He seized its open mouth in either hand, arms spread wide and his head thrust into its slavering maw as he grunted viciously. The beowolf, which usually would have attempted to overpower him and push him into the back of its throat, instead tried to bat at him with its forelegs as its hind limbs desperately attempted to pull itself free. With a heave that rattled loudly, his armor clattering against itself, he stepped up and placed a foot on the beast's bottom jaw. Both his hands were now firmly locked on the top jaw as he did something which seemed impossible for a mortal man.

Straightening his back an inch at a time, he pried the beowolf's mouth further and further apart. The soft fleshy tissue at its joint slowly strained, then began to tear as he forced the jaw apart bit by bit. With one final heave, he stomped down, burying its bottom jaw into the dirt as he stepped forward and pressed the top jaw upwards, backwards, and kept going until he had folded it over onto the beast's spine.

There had never been a Grimm that was deader than that one.

"Damn, that was brutal. Who the hell are you?" Jack said, approaching the armored figure and offering him one of the spare rooks. Christy already had the other, and apparently Xavier had one of his own already.

"Gaius." The man replied, taking the rook gingerly and dropping it into the opening in the neck of his armor, "You fight well."

"Thanks, I guess we should head back now though. My Aura is cooked and I imagine we've all earned some rest."

"We should," he agreed, his sentence seeming to hang in the air as he walked up and helped Xavier up from his knees.

"Aye! An' a meal'd be fantastic! I've worked up an appetite that would rival the entire class after a scrap like that!" Christy clapped Xavier on the back, threatening to topple  
him over again.

"Sure, sure," Xavier panted, rubbing the shoulder Christy had just slapped, "Just don't eat everything, alright?"

Jack laughed, shaking his head as he turned around to see how the other scrap had turned out.

* * *

Olivia stirred slightly, the force of the massive blast had been immense, but she wasn't about to let someone who'd fought so fiercely and then mustered the audacity to sacrifice himself for her lose because of her mistakes. She figured that her Aura must have broken and she'd passed out from the attack. Chances are she was waking up in an infirmary or something, and she breathed a disappointed sigh as she attempted to pick herself up.

However, as she did, she realized she was still sitting up and still in the forest. Peering around in a panic, she flailed slightly as she tried to pick herself up, only to hear a complaining and annoyed cough as she elbowed someone. Tilting her head up, she realized she was lying against the black-haired man from earlier, and he was propped against a tree which had a pretty solid chunk of bark removed from his impact.

"I'm Felix, please get off of me carefully. I'm pretty sore." He groaned.

Rolling his neck a little until it elicited a satisfying cracking sound, he rubbed his left shoulder which had apparently taken the brunt of their impact. She leaned forward and picked herself up. Dusting off her leggings and skirt, she reached down and grasped his hand to help him up.

"I'm Olivia, thanks for trying to save me."

"You did the saving with those shields of yours, but maybe don't thank me yet." He gestured to the scene before them as he stepped around her and clutched the releases on his blades again. They snapped back segment by segment with six loud clicks, concealing the steel fibers that let them extend within the recesses of the weapon.

Looking towards where he pointed, she saw the seniors gathering themselves up again as they too regrouped from the massive explosion. She realized exactly what had happened as she looked around and took the scene in. She had leapt back between Felix and the blast, using her bucklers to absorb what his weapons had not. The force of the blow activated the fire dust concealed in the knots on the front, and the two blasts negated each other for the most part. They had still been thrown aside, but likely hadn't taken significant damage.

As she watched Felix eye the four seniors, Gracie, with her exotic chain weapon, stepped in beside him, "You're not getting all the fun there, buddy." She ensured to forcibly bump him with her shoulder as she formed up with him. He glared at her in response, but made no motion to counter.

"I prefer Felix," he responded, "And I'll take all the help I can get."

Stepping forward, Olivia placed her hand on the back of Felix's neck for a moment to imprint upon him. He looked back at her quizzically, and she reflexively withdrew, "My semblance can help you out a little. That's all."

"I hope it does a bit more than that," a smooth skinned girl seemed to pop in from under her nose and Olivia almost screamed, "I'm Sam, and I have a plan." She said, her left eye swiftly glancing over Olivia, and then the other two. Her right eye stayed fixed on the senior students as the two teams squared off. Olivia felt her skin crawl, that was not a pleasant thing to see.

As they prepared to clash again, the senior with the axe blade sheathed his weapon after a quick glance at his scroll. When had he pulled _that_ out?

"This is wrapped up. We're about tapped over here and I think we've taken enough of your time. Take your prize and you can head on back. Ya'll are gonna be something to reckon with in no time." He grinned, reaching into his pocket and producing four little tokens that resembled chess knights.

"Shame, I was still raring for a fight." Felix complained as he strode forward and took the pieces. Turning back, he divvied them out among the other three.

"I don't think I did anything…" Olivia trailed off, looking away from the piece Felix thrust at her.

"If you hadn't jumped in and blocked that last shot, I would have been spent. As far as I'm concerned, you earned it. Just take the damn piece so I can go get some training in before we have to report to the headmaster."

"Olivia!" Cabot jogged up to them, placing a hand on Olivia's shoulder, "Are you okay?"

She took the piece tentatively before turning to answer Cabot, "Yeah I'm okay. Sorry I worried you."

"Nah its fine, that was a pretty ballsy move you made there."

"Uh, thanks? Did you want to keep going? And try to find a piece for you?"

"Nah, I found one those other guys left behind. Besides, you were kinda holding me back anyway. It is a lot harder doing what I do when I've gotta watch out for you too. Glad you managed to get one so we could wrap this up."

"Oh, I see…" she offered him a weak smile, "Then I'm glad."

"Yeah, I guess I'll see you back at the ceremony then."

Cabot waved over his shoulder, jogging back into the woods as he headed back towards the academy. Olivia frowned, just because it happened a lot when her semblance faded didn't mean it didn't hurt to have someone abandon you so quickly.

"Ah, forget that guy!" Gracie snarled, "He was a coward, flicking his bow around from the edge of the woods and only targeting the weaklings. A man who can't tackle something head on isn't a man at all! You're with us now, so stop moping and start walking!" She gnashed her teeth and crossed her arms.

Olivia offered her a small smile, and then quickly fell in with them as they started back.

Maybe she wouldn't make a half bad huntress after all.

* * *

**It occurs to me, in summary, that I should probably offer a small bit of extra guidance because of how everything seems to be smashed together.**

**If you want an idea of what Gracie's weapon looks like and you've forgotten the name: Kusarigama. They're cool, but that's a complicated weapon to write.  
Also, yes, Felix is using a weapon that is very similar to Aburai Renji's crazy hooked chain sword. I had an image in my head of using it as a dragging weapon  
as opposed to a cutting weapon, but I'll detail that at some point.**

**I glossed over a few things due to relative exhaustion, or because I wasn't sure how to put it in without feeling like I was extrapolating needlessly,  
I promise I'll focus a bit more on some of those little details (I have a few notes, but anything you spot will also be appreciated) in future chapters.  
**

**I know I've focused almost exclusively on the OCs so far... but I promise I'm going to bring the prior cast members forward soon. I didn't bring them in  
for no reason. I want to use them quite a bit, but I wanted to set the stage and have a chance to really dig into these new people. The overall concept  
is to use the prior characters to explore the new ones... and the new ones to create developments on the old ones.**

**Anyway, let me know how you liked it, I look forward to more feedback.**

**Enjoy~**


	3. Chapter 3: Wrapping up the Entrance

**I realized I just churned this out same day. I wanted to get the 'Hey, let's cover everyone every chapter' sections done so I can nail in on specific characters**  
**events, or teams and not feel guilty AF.**

**Sue me.**

* * *

"Wow, these students are pretty crazy!" Ruby kicked her feet, a dull thudding sound following each foot as it came back and tapped against the wooden desk. In her hands was a scroll keeping track of some of the various activities in the forest. She grinned a little as she leaned back over the desk and extended the scroll towards Weiss who stood nearby, "See these guys over here? I definitely think they could use a little more work." Her other hand started to poke at the screen, slightly obstructing her pale friend's vision.

"Just- let me see that. Jeez, Ruby," Weiss pulled the scroll from her friend's hand as she pulled a chair up and sat next to her. She learned against her hand as she held it so they could both look. Ruby set her head on top of Weiss's and tilted her head a little as she watched.

"Yeah, I can see what you mean. They're really focused on the fighting. They don't seem particularly interested in each other at all." She frowned, reaching up and patting Ruby's cheek softly.

"Well, that can be fixed. I just don't want Yang messing around with them too much."

"You've never liked my sister's approach to anything." Ruby slid down onto the desk; simultaneously resting her head on Weiss's shoulder and getting a closer look at the scroll.

"She was a pretty rough around the edges for a while."

"She's cleaned up!"

"Sure, she's a lot more stable now that Blake is around." Weiss teased, bumping her shoulder a little as she stood up, "I think I'm going to go down to the main hall and see if I can catch Jaune before he starts down that Ozpin bend he gets into right after the teams start returning." She rolled her eyes a little, miming talking with one of her hands.

Ruby giggled, slipping around the desk and dropping into the large chair behind it. She took her most proper seated position and squared her face up, "Dear Weiss," she started, mockingly deepening her voice, "inform him that his lovely ladies have eaten all the ice cream at home and that we need more."

Weiss snickered, and Ruby swiftly dropped the act as she joined in. Shaking her head, Weiss offered a final comment as she went out the door, "We'll pick up some strawberry on the way home, but I still can't believe you finished it without us."

"Gotta feed that sweet tooth, I'll see you tonight then? I gotta go talk to Yang before we wrap up for the day."

"Of course."

* * *

Jaune peered around the auditorium as some of the students began to trickle in and mill about. He could see the tell-tale look of exhaustion in their eyes. Not to mention, they started to take account of who was already here and who was filtering in from outside. They, too, were observing the brutal process of cutting students from the course. He grimaced a little, even if it was one of the most effective methods of keeping the classes a manageable size and picking the cream of the crop, it didn't do much to soften the blow. It weighed heavily on him, and he sighed with equal weight.

A soft hand came down on his shoulder and he looked up, his head unconsciously flicking slightly too far in order to get his messy blonde hair out of his eyes as he did. Weiss smiled down at him, "Darling, Ruby ate the rest of the ice cream."

"Of course she did." He softly tossed up a hand in mild indignation, but his tone was more amused than annoyed.

"You seem slightly troubled, another year of opening ceremony blues?"

"As usual," he frowned, taking her hand and holding it. She gripped it back, smiling at him, "You've always been too soft for such an approach. I'm surprised you didn't just change the original selection process."

"Well, some students don't shine as well on paper as they do in the field."

"Sure, and some students look way better on paper, isn't that right?" She reached up and pinched his cheek. He winced in response, jerking away as he used his free hand to rub the spot.

"Ouch! And, yes… some students are much sharper on paper." He was aware of her particular jab, but after so many years it was only that, a jab. He'd earned more than his keep in the time since then. "So I like to let both opportunities speak for themselves, even if I'm not fond of the idea."

"I get it, as well as the fact that it stings a lot more to see the actual faces of those that didn't succeed."

"I think it helps keep the job in perspective. Better to disappoint them now then to build them up and send them out into the world thinking they are better than they are." He sighed, rubbing his brow. A moment later he felt the warm softness of her lips quickly pecking his forehead.

"Since you won't need me for this particular part I'm going to pop over and see how Ren and Nora are doing before I head home for the night. I'll stop and get the groceries on the way back, but you're doing dinner."

"Of course, if I leave that to you or Ruby you might burn the house down." He smirked back at her, winking slightly. She feigned offense, softly patting his cheek as if giving him the softest slap.

"Well, I never," she giggled, "We'll see you at home."

He watched her leave with a soft wave over her shoulder, sighing again. He would be speaking soon; he might as well do his best to raise the spirits in the room.

* * *

Returning to the auditorium, or the main hall, either title worked adequately based on its location and design. Most of the students they'd seen returning along with them came in ones and twos, having paired off as partners in most cases. A few were likely just lucky or talented enough to have managed it alone, but they were mostly an exception. It unnerved Felix at the idea that he'd fallen in with an entire group of huntresses. He felt it made him look weak, or worse. What if someone saw him wandering around with three women and assumed him some playboy type who wasn't even taking Beacon seriously?

He pushed the thought out of his mind.

After all, if someone had seen them in the clearing it would be readily apparent that each one had played their part and proved their mettle. Gracie was, for lack of a better term, a faunas wrecking ball. Olivia had the heart to step in even when she was uncertain of herself, and Sam was… well he had no idea with her. As far as he'd seen, she'd only brought more pressure on their shoulders in the end. Still, she probably had some redeeming value he hadn't seen yet. He had been a bit preoccupied in the forest.

They dropped into a foursome of seats, and he'd quickly crossed his arms and kicked his feet up. He wanted to close his eyes, but he couldn't help shooting a sideways glance towards his team. Not because he wanted to inspect them, but because he could feel the hair standing up on his neck. Since they'd left the forest, Gracie had been eying him like a threat. Every so often, she'd bare her teeth in his direction, and the expression was most certainly not a pleasant one.

He was tempted to ask, but as she hadn't bothered bringing it up, he figured it best he maintain the status quo.

Olivia had stayed on his heel the entire time, and every time he caught her eye she would beam expectantly at him. He wasn't sure what it was she was driving at, but he wasn't about to take whatever bait she was laying out. It was his policy to engage a topic only when it was raised officially. It wasn't his place to cause concern, or raise conversation. People spoke about whatever they were comfortable speaking about. If she expected him to speak first, she would be waiting a long time for her conversation.

Which brought him back to Sam.

He cast a judgmental eye onto the other faunas on his team. He didn't have anything against her people, but he did have something against how suspicious she seemed of him. She appeared to be some kind of lizard faunas based on her skin and… eyes. They seemed to work independently of each other, and she capitalized on this fact. Her right one never let him leave her sight, focusing with an intensity that almost made him sweat. He couldn't tell if it was animosity or terror that filled them, but he did know that he was the cause of it. It was the only situation of the three he was tempted to speak up and attempt to dispel.

In the end, however, he decided it wouldn't have mattered anyway. She would probably believe whatever she wanted.

Sighing heavily, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back. The least he could do was relax while he waited for this exam to end.

* * *

"An' then I just threw him onto the Deathstalker's back and he was like WHAM!" Christy swayed back and forth across the group, her arms waving wildly as she spoke about the fight in the forest.

Jack couldn't help but smile at her antics, and with how embarrassed Xavier was hearing his exploits described as heroics only served to make it that much more charming. If he were to guess, even Gaius was enjoying the whole ordeal, as the grunting responses that came from within his armored helmet could only be described as approval or chuckling. He hoped whatever team these wild hunters wound up in would appreciate these little details as much as he currently was.

There was a certain charm to each one of them, if he had to suppose. Gaius seemed firm and loyal, not to mention fierce and brave. His mind was also quick, as a few of Christy's references had been really far out there but not far enough to slip by the iron man's steel trap mind. Xavier was thoughtful, careful, but he cared and didn't think too highly of himself. Constantly trying to downplay the praises sung to him, his humility was probably his most prominent feature. Christy was just a bubble of energy that sought nothing more than to bring a smile to the faces around her. She would have done well wherever she went so long as they weren't a bunch of hardasses.

Smiling to himself, he stood beside them as they took chairs in the auditorium to await the headmaster's speech. Glancing down the row, he saw the other team who'd been in the clearing with them. They didn't spare him a glance, too caught up in their own sort of celebration from the look of it. They were far lower in energy from his perspective. Still, to each their own he figured.

Taking a deep breath, he looked up towards the headmaster, who had finally stood up and marched to his podium. Guess it was time for the conclusion.

* * *

"Students," Jaune spoke, addressing the room. He swallowed, looking around at those gathered before him, "As you are rightly called after your trials in the forest today. Welcome, officially, to Beacon Academy." He smiled, leaning against the podium.

"As I'm sure you noticed, each of the tokens you acquired had a shape and color to it. Something to define it from the others. What you may not have noticed, considering you only had one to speak for, was that it had siblings lurking amongst the other students who have gathered here today." He grinned a little, as much as he hated having to eliminate hopefuls from the enrollment, this part always held a special place in his heart.

It set in slowly, but soon, the students in the room began glancing at their tokens and looking around to see who else had a similar one. Bright eyes quickly forgetting the trials they'd faced that day, instead filling up with interest and curiosity and, are they say it, excitement. He grinned brightly, "We have already evaluated the owners of which pieces, considering you had to present your tokens to Mr. and Ms. Ren on the way into the auditorium. On your way out, if you will stop in with them again, we'll ensure you are directed to your rooms where you can get fully acquainted with your new team."

"For the next three years, you will spend time bonding and growing as hunters and huntresses until you graduate and are full-fledged defenders of the four kingdoms. Take pride in yourselves and the accomplishments that have led you here. Today, you begin the final steps on your path to becoming protectors, and more importantly, the very fire that staves off the darkness that threatens humanity."

He had captured all the eyes at this point, and he grinned as brightly as he could as he extended his hands to them, "Welcome to Beacon."

* * *

Felix didn't have much in the way of belongings, so he'd made it to the room before any of his new roommates. Ms. Ren had practically burst out laughing when she handed him a slip with a number and a hastily written 'Team SGOF' on it. Guess teams didn't get to pick their own names? It was kind of irritating, considering he had a wealth of decent names he could have come up with. Instead, his team name came out sounding a little like 'Scoff'. Fantastic, now everything about him exuded uninvolved and self-important.

More things for him to deliberate over later.

The room was simple enough, although it left a lot to be desired in the way of privacy. It was a single dorm room, and entering immediately had you flanked by two doors. On one side was the bathroom and the other was a closet. There was no bath, only a shower and a toilet with an accompanying sink to join it. The room itself had a dresser straight across from the door, conveniently situated beneath the only window. The room opened up and revealed itself to have four beds, although none of them were particularly large. They ate the entirety of the left and right halves of the room, so the walking space in the middle was practically identical to the width of the dresser.

What annoyed him the most, however, is that the feet of the beds were butted directly up against each other. He realized rather quickly that if he had a particularly tall roommate, he might end up bumping feet with them in the night as they would spill over into his bed.

Speaking of, the very first thing he did was take his suitcase and set it on the bed in the back right corner. It was pleasantly situated beside the dresser and the window, as well as being furthest from the bathroom and the door. Opening it, he pulled the top drawer of the dresser and carefully set his folded clothing into the half closest to his bed. He carefully paired his daily clothes into coordinated outfits, and finally set his socks in neat pairings atop each one. He put his school uniform atop the dresser beside his bed as if it were a nightstand. His suitcase now empty, he folded the lid back and set it on the floor so that he could easily slide it under his bed.

Without waiting for his roommates to arrive, he shed his pants and undid the buttons on his vest and dress shirt. Dropping them into the bag, using it as an impromptu dirty clothes hamper, he kicked it under the bed and grabbed his sleeping pants from the dresser, as well as his towel, before shutting it. Yawning slightly, he marched into the bathroom, started the shower, and then locked the door.

Might as well use it before his teammates arrived.

* * *

Gracie staggered into the room, Sam and Olivia swiftly following behind her, actively wrestling with their entire set of luggage, "Ladies or not, did you bring your families to school with you?!" She griped angrily as she relented, dumping their cases onto the ground.

"Thank you very much Gracie! I could have carried my own luggage, but I really appreciate you helping me out." Olivia squeezed her arm gratefully as she sorted her own belongs out and move to the right side of the room to take the back corner. Sam had already sat down wearily on the companion bed at the foot of Olivia's. She exhaled deeply as she pushed herself up and into the corner of the room. She paused, leaning her head against the wall.

"I think our other roommate is already using the shower." She said thoughtfully, looking first to Olivia, then over to Gracie.

"Well hopefully they're quick. I wanna get in there next!" Gracie groaned, leaning over and cracking her back. She opened her two big cases and started stuffing them unceremoniously into the bottom drawer of the dresser. Olivia was sitting on her knees in her bed, carefully organizing her belongings on her sheets while she waited for her turn at the dresser.

She looked up from her work to smile at Sam, "I guess we're bunk mates huh? I don't mind, we're both so small we won't have anything to worry about."

"I can only hope I'm so lucky! I'm just as long as these beds, maybe our teammate is tiny like Sam is!" Gracie chuckled heartily, tossing her dirty clothes onto the floor as she stood up and kicked the dresser closed, "All you Oli."

"Thank you! I'll take the next one up; you can have the second one Sam. Does that sound fair?"

"What?" She perked up, pulling herself from some kind of haze. Her eyes twitched, splitting their attention between both girls at once, "Oh, yes. Sure. We can leave the top one to our other roommate. I imagine they've already claimed it considering their uniform is already out." She pointed at the neatly folded clothes sitting atop the dresser.

"My thoughts exactly!" She beamed, turning back to her work. She carefully transferred her clothes from the bed to the dresser, splitting off her sleeping clothes as well as a fresh pair of underwear and a towel before wrapping up. Returning to her bed, she peeled herself out of her clothes and collapsed onto it.

Sam slunk along the edge of the bed and pulled her dresser drawer open curtly when her turn finally came. She smashed her belongings into it, periodically casting her eyes around the room and turning to eye her companions. When she finished, she fished her own sleeping clothes and towel out before slinking back to her bed and sliding into the corner.

Then, the three of them sat awkwardly as silence filled the room and they all waited patiently for the bathroom to free up.

* * *

"Can you believe we all got teamed up! How convenient is that!" Jack laughed uproariously as the rest of his 'team' unpacked around him. They had let Christy pick the first bed, citing the 'ladies first' rule. She complained a little, but in the end she'd picked one near the window. Xavier took her partner bed, leaving Jack and Gaius to take the other half. Without too much complaining, Christy insisted that shower rights be determined by rock paper scissors. Ironically, she still won and got to go first, but she had no complaints at a fairly won scenario.

As they settled in and waited for her to wrap up, Xavier carefully went to work sorting out all the clothes they'd left hanging about. Gaius insisted something about 'taking a walk' and departed from the room before Jack could say anything else. So Jack sat around in his boxers, flipping through his scroll for some good music to jam to when he had his turn in the bathroom.

"You know, you're pretty chipper for a hunter Jack." Xavier said as he carefully folded Christy's clothes before replacing them in the dresser. Glancing around his scroll, Jack noted that Xavier was working on the third drawer, silently wondering if he'd already done the same to the other drawers.

"Well, I don't see much of a reason to be depressing. I also don't really have a tragic back story to justify it!" Jack chuckled, closing his scroll and tossing it on the uniform he had laying on the ground beside his bed.

"Really? I wouldn't say I have a 'tragic backstory' but I don't see it as a particularly hopeful life either."

"Yeah? What is your backstory, if you don't mind me asking."

Xavier snickered a little, "When you put it like that, it sounds like a video game."

"Well, isn't it? I mean, we fight monsters with special powers and awesome weapons and we can track our Aura with our scrolls in little meters like a health bar… we're about as close to a video game as you can get in real life!" Jack placed his hands behind his head as he laid back on his pillow.

"Fair enough. Well, I just come from a small town that isn't really frequented by hunters or anything else. We had a town guard and a militia and such, but eventually I realized it might be nice if a hunter might come through once in a blue moon. So I figured, if I became a hunter then I could go through and ease things up once in a while." Xavier shrugged, absent mindedly organizing Christy's things into reasonable locations in her drawer.

"That's pretty admirable. I grew up here in Vale, and the idea of never leaving was kind of boring. So I figured, hey, become a hunter, see the world, right?"

Xavier laughed, "Somehow I knew it was going to be something simple like that."

"No one needs to be complicated. I bet Christy would say she wanted to look cool and Gaius just wants to kill Grimm. Which would make you the deepest one on the whole team!"

"I guess it does, huh? Now I feel extra self-conscious." Xavier laughed, looking over his shoulder. Jack smiled brightly back.

"Look, if you two are going to kiss, get it over with. It is one of your turns in the shower." Christy yawned, tossing her towel onto the dresser as she tromped to her bed and fell face first onto it. She went out like a light. Shrugging, Jack rolled over.

"I'll shower in the morning, you go right ahead Xavier. I'm gone."

* * *

Felix opened the door, rubbing his face with his towel before tossing it over his shoulder. He reached up, pulling his shoulder length hair back into a ponytail and tying it off before coming to a sudden stop. He stared at the woman who was blocking his path to the rest of the room, mild disbelief on both of their faces. He could feel his own, but he could see hers.

"You're our fourth?" She asked incredulously. Her razor sharp teeth could easily be seen as she bared them aggressively. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she stood there in her underwear, blocking his path. Sighing, he reached up and pushed her out of his way as he waved over his shoulder.

"Just take a shower; I'm too tired for this." He started towards his bed, but before he could get more than a few steps she snatched him by the shoulder and turned him around.

"Girls, make sure you're decent. It is that black-haired mongrel from the woods."

"Girls?" He parroted, tilting his head.

"Really?" Another female voice perked up somewhere behind him. He attempted to turn his head, but Gracie reached up and grabbed his face with one hand, steering him back to her. He reached up and aggressively slapped her hand off his face, offering his own mocking growl in response.

"Stop doing that. I want to go to bed, I don't give a rat's ass who is where in what." They stood there, eye to eye for a moment before Gracie stormed into the bathroom angrily. Felix rubbed his jaw as he turned around and ran directly into Olivia.

"Well hello again, stranger!" She beamed up at him, wearing a robe to cover herself. Felix offered her a sneer before stepping around her. She wasn't like looking into a female mirror, so there was more room to maneuver. He didn't bother looking around the room as he dropped into his bed, lamenting his luck. He grabbed his towel and lazily dropped it on the floor.

"H-h-h-h-hi…" he heard a meek little voice from the corner. Tilting his head slowly, he saw the opposite corner of the room was a tiny swaddled human being. Well, faunas being. He would recognize those paranoid little eyes anywhere.

"Hello Sam," he offered, his exhaustion in his voice, "I'm going to bed, so stop staring at me." Pulling at his bed, he slid under his covers and then pulled them over his head. He was in a room, with three women, one of which seemed to think he wanted her dead, and one of which seemed primed to remove his head on principal.

Well, at least Olivia didn't seem to hate him.

* * *

**Now we can actually zero in on stuff.**

**Enjoy~**


	4. Chapter 4: A Study in Sam

**Alright, here we go again. The next chapter is probably going to take more work.**

**Hell, this one was supposed to be shorter. I have no idea how I got what I did out of it.**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

Sam viciously scribbled notes, her left eye studying the board, while her right kept track of her writing hand. For a first day, she hadn't expected to cover so much material. Chances are it was something along the lines of catching up in case their previous schooling hadn't been adequate. It didn't much bother her; she was always fond of notes. Structured classes were also among her favorite things, and with how thorough Lady Weiss was she figured that her classes for this period would be predictable.

It was reassuring, unlike her teammates.

Felix was staring out the classroom window, hand propped against his head as he likely tried to fight off sleep. She imagined it was an extra trying prospect as Gracie, who was seated beside him, he simply given up and laid her head upon the desk. Olivia sat beside her, and she looked both confused and distraught. She made a mental note to let her copy her own material later on. Poor girl was trying, but she simply couldn't keep up with the pace of their instructor.

Raising her free hand, she earned their instructors attention. She decided now would be a good time to ask a question in order to buy Olivia a few moments to catch up. "Lady Weiss, in coordinated assaults, you said that the King Taijitu is known to divide its attention. Is that considered an advantage to the team attacking it, or to the beast itself? I feel an argument could be made for either instance but that you might have a different insight based on experience."

"Very interesting question, Samus. Whereas the King Taijitu, with its multiple heads that each appear to operate independently…" Lady Weiss started her explanation, essentially recapping her previous statements in more detail. Sam switched her eyes, turning one to Olivia and one towards her notes. She smiled to herself as she saw Olivia breathe a sigh of relief as she frantically filled out the rest of the notes on the board she had yet to catch up with. Flicking her attention back to their instructor, she offered her undivided attention as she devoured the information that was fed to her.

As their morning classes adjourned, she took extra time to gather her things and allow the class to filter out into the halls and go their merry way. Her own teammates began to depart as well. She found it most interesting that, despite being a team of four, they had naturally segmented themselves into pairs for ease of organization. Honestly, it made a lot of sense, but the fact that there had been zero discussion on the topic definitely fascinated her. It had only been a week or so, but they were quickly settling into Beacon.

Speaking of, Gracie and Felix finally started towards the door. As Sam made a habit of being the last out, the rest of her team had followed suit and often waited until most of the other students had departed before they themselves left. She smirked a little as she observed their interaction; it was really one of her favorite to see. Felix, likely while rolling his eyes tried his best to stay ahead of Gracie, who did her level best to always stand shoulder to shoulder with him. Her pride made exiting through the door a chore for both parties. She didn't want him to cede the path on account of politeness or gender, but she also deigned it a concession of will to let him go first.

As usual, Gracie capitulated and left the room first, but it nearly made her giggle watching the conflict mar Gracie's features when Felix offered a sarcastic tip of his head.

Gathering her own things, she turned to Olivia. The smiling ray of sunshine sat patiently, inspecting her nails as she waited for Sam to give her the signal. Standing up, she glanced over, "Alright, I think I'm ready."

"Fantastic, and thanks for slowing Lady Weiss down earlier today. I couldn't keep up with the lesson." The adorable little blonde blushed a little as she glanced away. Sam couldn't help but smile.

"That's alright; it was all review for me anyway. I saw you working so hard and I figured it'd be a waste if you didn't get everything before she moved on." They picked their way through the halls, most of the students either in the cafeteria or heading off to use the free period for some other lesson. Sam liked it best at times like this: fewer people to watch, fewer threats, and much more space to escape if she required it.

After all, having an escape plan was always her first plan.

The two of them made their way into the courtyard, which is where Sam found it most prudent to have their lunches. On her part, Sam appreciated being out in the open in the sunlight where it was warm and she had lots of places to retreat to should she desire. Olivia didn't seem to mind it at all either. After they took their first lunch period outside, she had offered to prepare them lunch for future days. Sam considered saying no, but the eagerness of her offer had made her accept. She was glad she had, because Olivia glowed three shades brighter when she said yes.

The only downside to it was that they would have to part soon.

Olivia had enrolled herself in several extra combat training classes for her afternoon blocks, none of which Sam had deigned useful for her own interests. Instead, she had decided to take an extra load of academics in order to supplement her need for knowledge. It didn't bother her too much; they would reconvene at the end of the day and have dinner together. Since they both took late classes, the cafeteria would be practically empty by the time they'd finished and they could take their meal in general peace.

Not to mention she wouldn't have to suffer Felix and Gracie.

To be fair, she didn't have an issue with Gracie. Sure, her table manners were atrocious, but she was simple and predictable. Gracie did exactly what you would expect. Challenge everyone in her vicinity and attempt to establish some level of dominance. To her, that was everything. She wanted to be the top dog, the alpha female. The pack leader. It was in every action she took. Half the reason she'd ended up dogging every one of Felix's steps is because she saw him as a threat to her position.

Felix, on the other hand, was a massive headache. Just like the first time she saw him, every instance of action he took left her rubbing her temples. He was the living embodiment of unpredictability as far as she was concerned. He slept at different times of the night, and he woke up whenever he felt like it. He didn't set alarms either, so it was like he was completely arbitrary. His showers were random as well. Sometimes he took them instead of lunch, sometimes he took them in the morning, sometimes he took them at night. Occasionally he didn't eat at all in the day, and some days he would eat several extra times throughout the day. Everything about him was aggravating.

To top it all off, when they had their teamwork classes he stuck to his own script at every turn. No matter how she tried to incorporate him or factor him in, he would just go off on his own tangent. At first, she thought it was because he forgot the plan part way through the class, but she quickly learned that it was nothing of the sort. In fact, he fully remembered the plan and did almost everything in his power to avoid coalescing with it in any way.

Was it so he could out do Gracie? Was it to impress Olivia? Was it to drive her completely mad?

It was certainly accomplishing the third one, and she had half a mind to strangle him while he slept. It might have been wrong, but god dammit she needed something to alleviate her stress.

Parting with Olivia, she pondered what she would do next to keep her cool for tomorrow's teamwork initiative course as she worked her way towards her advanced history course.

"Ms. Samus, you look conflicted." She nearly jumped out of her skin, her feet spread defensively as she turned her head towards the voice. Jaune Arc, headmaster and instructor for the very course that was vexing her had snuck up on her.

"Mr. Arc, I didn't see you there." She replied quickly. She reached up and swatted at her hair, one of her eyes looking upwards to ensure her bangs were out of her face.

"Indeed, you were rather preoccupied with your thoughts. I've never seen your face so scrunched up. Care to step away from your schedule to talk about it?" He stepped back and she realized he had been standing in the doorway of the teacher's lounge on this end of the school. He lifted an arm, gesturing to one of the tables within where a decorated mug with his name on it was waiting.

She offered a small nod, dropping her gaze to her feet as she entered.

The silence was unnerving and comforting all at the same time. Mr. Arc casually pulled a spare mug from a cupboard and made her a cup of tea. The only words they'd exchanged since she'd entered had been to determine whether she would desire coffee or tea, to which she elected tea. Coffee was too bitter for her liking.

Since there was no conversation, as she waited for him to take his own seat and bring her the mug, she studied the only thing available to him. The mug that was steaming with the strong earthy smell of coffee was clearly personalized. Based on the images she saw on it, cutesy and exaggerated, she doubted they were created by his own hand.

Finally, he placed her own mug before her before sitting across from her. He gripped the handle of his mug with one hand, and wrapped the other protectively around the front. Something about it only lent to the strong, stabling image he impressed upon the students. Like he was everyone's father all at once and yet completely there for just you, even she couldn't maintain her traditional paranoia before his gaze.

"So, give me an idea of what it is that is bothering you?" He smiled warmly, lifting his coffee up to his lips and taking a sip from it. He almost looked childish with both his hands wrapped around it. It was hard not to imagine him as a student.

"I'm having some complications within my team." She paused, glancing up from her cup. She suddenly realized the brilliance of his plan.

His drink had cooled, but hers was still too hot to drink. Any moment when she might reflexively wait for his input could be stifled by dipping into his own drink. Her silences would never be awkward or over long, he would just comfortably drink coffee and it was perfectly natural.

"I have a teammate who doesn't conform to… well he doesn't stick to… he operates on his own plan. It is really irritating and I don't know what to do about it."

"You're talking about Mr. Felix." He offered, outing her immediately before returning to his coffee.

"I- yes. Felix is the single most aggravating aspect of any plan I've ever attempted to concoct. Even if I tell him to just do whatever he wants, he finds a way to make everything deviate. I don't know how to control something like that." She huffed, grumpily batting the tag on her tea bag.

"That can be a frustrating experience. I know of a few people who have dealt with similar problems."

"How have they dealt with it?"

"Well, you might find this an interesting anecdote, before I answer the question at hand," he smiled slightly before continuing, "Did you know Ms. Ruby was her team's leader?"

"Lady Weiss had said something to that effect, yes."

"Wait, Lady Weiss?" He asked, pointing at her, "She didn't go with instructor, or Ms. Schnee? Or even Ms. Arc?"

"Yes, she said to call her Lady Weiss. She's your wife?"

"And the second most aggravating thing I have to plan around, yes." He smiled, shaking his head, "But, as I was saying, Ruby was her team leader. She was also one of the most unpredictable elements of her own team."

"I find that difficult to believe that a leader would be difficult to predict…" she mused to herself.

"Indeed, she had so many plans that it was difficult to guess what she was going to decide next, for the enemy that was. As you are aware, I was also the leader of my team, despite the talent that was around me." He smiled, remembering something.

"Ms. Ren was on my team, and as you've met her, I'm sure you can imagine steering that particular warhead was never an easy task."

"From what I've heard, she thought very highly of you."

"Respect is a little different than complete adherence to a plan. I could trust her to do her part, but I relied on her flexibility at accomplishing it."

"I don't have even that however, Felix doesn't seem to respect anything I think or try to do." She nearly puffed her cheeks out in frustration as she leaned into her tea and took a sip.

"Perhaps that is only how you perceive his actions. From what I have seen, I would instead think that things are much different than that."

"I don't believe I understand, Mr. Arc." She sighed, taking another sip of her tea. She did her best to conceal it, but a part of her was incredibly relieved that it was cool enough to drink. Now she too could partake in this little game he'd devised.

"I can't say that I can offer the best advice. After all, how I would resolve a situation will be based on my own preferences and experience. Even when I was your age, I did things in my own way. To that end, I believe any advice I offer in that regard won't be adequate," he paused, releasing his mug and tenting his fingers, "It simply won't match your own preferences."

"Of course, in that regard," he continued, smiling a little as he glanced into his now empty cup, "it gives me a wonderful opportunity to circle back on myself. We all have our own way of doing things. I suggest watching him a bit closer when these things occur. If you are a bit more attentive, you might notice some trends that you have not before. Keep an open mind." He smiled, glancing out the window.

"I do believe I've taken enough of your time however. It wouldn't do for me to keep you from the latter half of your day too terribly long."

"Of course, thank you Mr. Arc." Sam stood, glancing at her half empty mug. Reaching down, she swiftly finished it off and set it down, "Thank you for the tea, and the talk."

"Of course, and when we do teamwork drills tomorrow, remember what I said. Pay attention."

"Oh," she stopped, wheeling in the doorway, "Are we married to the team name? SGOF?"

"I… not particularly? That is just kind of Beacon has always done it. The name is comprised of the names of the team members."

"Well, I have a proposition. I would like to have our team name changed to FLAN."

"Any… particular reason?" Jaune asked, crossing his legs as he looked to her.

"Well, in keeping with academy tradition, it is still composed of our names, only it is our last names. Faran, Laurens, Ardent, and Norris. FLAN. I think it sounds significantly less pretentious. It is also easier on the eyes."

"I can see your point. Very well, we can change the name to FLAN. Provided your team agrees. Bring me their deliberation in our afternoon class."

"Of course Mr. Arc. Have a good day." Sam left, closing the door behind her.

Jaune scrunched up his face, glancing at his coffee cup, "Dammit, that is a _really_ good name. Why didn't I think of that? Stupid Ozpin, he made it look so easy."

* * *

"I spoke to Mr. Arc today." Sam practically whispered from the little blanket cocoon she hid in on her bed.

Olivia put her scroll down, along with whatever she was likely studying, to focus on their leader. Gracie grunted slightly, glaring up at Felix for a moment before returning to her weapon maintenance. Felix gave a small hum in acknowledgement, but didn't bother sitting up or looking away from whatever he was reading.

"And what did you speak about?" Olivia asked pleasantly, rocking slightly towards her partner.

"Our team, specifically the name. I wanted to ask your opinions on a possible change." Sam replied, looking around the room. After a moment without reply, she continued, "I proposed we have our name changed to use our last names for the team name instead of our first. I felt it was more appropriate and it felt a little snappier."

"And what would that make us?" Gracie practically growled. Sam pulled her blanket a little closer to her face in response, "SGOF would become… what… FNLA? That doesn't sound snappier or more clever. It sounds even dumber."

"Well, we would rearrange it. I've thought about it all week. We would be team FLAN." She finished, retreating into her blanket as she let them deliberate.

"I do like desserts." Olivia hummed in agreement, "It is a lot cuter too."

"At least we don't sound like asses that way." Gracie replied.

Silence filled the room, Sam finally prompting their last member, "Felix?"

"My opinion doesn't really matter. I've been outvoted."

"Felix," Olivia chided softly, "It should be unanimous. If you have something to express, you should." She smiled supportively back at Sam.

"Fine," he set his scroll aside, sitting up, "FLAN sounds fine. It is expressive because it is a reference to a dessert, and thus cooking. It is typically orange and yellow, like you and Gracie. It doesn't sound like we are coughing or we picked some jerky name. Sam picked it, so she's clearly happy with it," He quickly looked over the room, "I don't really care. So long as you're all happy, I'm fine changing the name." He nodded, grabbed his scroll, and laid back down.

"Very well, I will let Mr. Arc know when we get to class tomorrow and it will be official."

* * *

The following day was harrowing.

Well, likely not for everyone, but for Sam it was nerve-wracking. She had spent the entire evening deliberating what Mr. Arc meant. It had led to her spending most of the evening offering Felix what he affectionately, or was it annoyingly, referred to as a 'death glare'. She studied him until the rest of the team agreed on lights out. Just watching him flip through his scroll and view news on the net.

He was a mystery as far as she could tell.

Sure, in combat he was definitely a class above his peers. No one had beaten him yet, and the only hopeful for such a task had yet to gain an opportunity to do so. That was the first thing she'd noticed. Felix was usually first up when sparring class was concerned. She'd heard as much from the classes she wasn't enrolled, and seen as much in the ones they shared. If he wasn't selected, he would volunteer. If he was selected, he was quick to prove himself. Not a soul could touch him, or at least that's what the Aura meters showed. A mix of his semblance and his untraditional fighting style combined to make him a fearsome opponent, if only because you could never tell how well or poorly you were doing against him.

In the morning, they shared all their academic classes. Most teams did. And she was further flabbergasted by the results he pulled. For an individual who paid notably little attention to the lectures and spent almost no time studying or participating in post class assignments, his test scores were also not to be questioned. It was like every aspect of his existence was designed to contradict itself. One moment, he is shining brightly and you can't look away, and then he is gone.

Like a shooting star, glorious for all of a moment.

It only served to irritate her further.

As lunch wrapped up, she was so full of sighs that Olivia finally spoke up, "Sam, what on earth has you so frustrated? You have been nothing but exhales all day. I'm concerned you've forgotten how breathing works!" She smiled at her own joke in spite of herself as she looked to her tiny friend.

Sam clutched her books to her chest, burying her chin against the bindings as they walked, "Mr. Arc gave me some advice for dealing with my… little complication during our leadership and teamwork courses."

"The Felix problem." Olivia nodded knowingly. If they weren't discussing classes, or the most recent boy to start flirting with her, then Sam was complaining about Felix. Olivia felt that, at some point, she'd start being able to plan like her partner if she stressed any further about it.

"Yes, he said to watch him closely and I might learn something about him I hadn't noticed before. That it would be like some kind of key to figuring out how to work more efficiently with him. I've studied him all day and all night and do you know what I've learned?" She had freed one of her hands to gesture around angrily as she spoke. Olivia almost laughed, but used what little discipline she had to contain herself. Sam looked extra small when she was angry, and the poor girl was already a flat five feet tall.

"That he has really nice hair?" She offered a cheeky smile. What she said wasn't _untrue_ but it was definitely not what was being driven at.

"Please, like he'd let us forget. I think he spends more time playing with his hair than the rest of us combined," Sam's statement wasn't untrue either, although Olivia made a note to time him next time for comparison, "No, I realized I don't know a damn thing about him. Like, honestly, what do any of us know about him?"

"He's a good fighter? He's kinda smart?" Olivia shrugged, Sam made a fair point. He was the only person who hadn't really spoken about himself. Or at all.

"That's about the only thing we can be certain of, and the intelligence isn't even entirely true. Is he a good guesser? Does he prepare well? Maybe this is stuff he already knew for some reason. Maybe he's cheating. It is impossible to tell, but it all seems viable. The only thing we know is that he enjoys, and is capable, in battle." They had arrived in the classroom now, and she had taken to speaking in a harsh whisper. Gracie and Felix had to travel from the far end of school and were already well known for being late rather often. Sam dropped her books onto their team table and crossed her arms angrily.

"I can see your point." Olivia mused, taking her chair. She sighed, a part of her hoped the other two would arrive soon so Sam would stop complaining, but a glance at the door assured her no such respite was in store.

"That's the only thing I know. I didn't expect to have an answer immediately, but I had hoped that I'd at least have something to work with by now. Or something to dig into. Instead? More questions. Infuriating."

"Ms. Faran, did you have your answer about the team name?" Mr. Arc had snuck up on her a second time in as many days. Sam almost fell into her chair as she turned to give him her attention.

"I did, Mr. Arc. It was unanimously agreed upon that Team FLAN was more poetic then the aforementioned SGOF. So, if you have no complaints, we would appreciate if that could be our team name going forward."

"Of course, I'll ensure we have that put into the transcript. I'll even speak to Ruby about having a new plaque engraved for your dorm room."

"It would be much appreciated."

"I hope you enjoy the lesson we have for the afternoon." He smiled warmly, offering Olivia a nod before returning to the front of the classroom.

"Do you think it is hard to teach a class and be headmaster?" Olivia leaned over to whisper to Sam as the latter took her seat.

"I honestly don't know, but I'd think it isn't terribly difficult. It isn't like we have much paperwork he would need to handle. This is likely something he can do to fill up spare time between the beginning and end of the year." Sam spoke matter-of-factly, something Olivia found she liked more and more as they spent time together. She was always so certain of herself when it was just the two of them. Far more assertive than when they were all cooped up in the dorm room.

In there, her team leader was like a tiny moth wrapped up in her blankets.

"I'm just saying you should have a quick duel with me. We can do it after class. Just like that, in and out. I promise I won't let it last for long." Gracie growled in her quietest voice as she dropped heavily into her chair. Felix replied with a heavy sigh,

"No Gracie. Just… be quiet so we can get this class over with."

* * *

The teamwork course was both Sam's favorite and most irritating class.

It allowed her to shine, as planning and leadership was both her role on the team and something which she excelled at. Eventualities, probability, and the development of a situation was something she did particularly well with. It was a game to her, and she thrived in such environments. Chess had long been one of her favorite past times, and battle was really a more active game of chess, where both players attempted to move faster than the other, but continued to play at the same time. You got to make as many moves as you can in as short a time as possible to outpace and out play your opposition.

Chess, without the formality of waiting your turn.

In that regard, the teams often competed against each other in the events Mr. Arc devised. Capture the hunter, or a timed event that compared Aura levels at the end of the competition, or even just racing around the school in order to see who could pick anchors correctly or the most efficient path if certain paths were blocked off. However, usually it was a more _active_ competition between the two teams.

To that end, they were required to abandon their usual uniforms and adopt their combat clothes and weapons.

To that end, the class, much like on sparring days, looked particularly comical to her. Some people would place their equipment on the desk or beside them so they might sit down without issue, but her own team was among the more peculiar.

Olivia wore her shields the entire time. If notes needed to be taken, their position on her forearms didn't actually impede anything. She wore a yellow duster and leggings alongside a white and yellow skirt. The last piece in her ensemble was knee high heeled boots. Completely impractical, but she figured that it was form of function in this scenario. Her long blonde hair was allowed to hang wildly across her back, how it didn't get in her way in combat was a mystery Sam had yet to discern.

Gracie held the ball-chain-blade combo lovingly in her lap, pulled back from the desk so that it didn't bump into it as she bounced her legs impatiently. She wore tanned leather shorts with metal studs bolted into it. It was clearly several layers of leather hide, and the bolting allowed it to stick together and provide protection and padding. She also wore a more classic leather tunic that covered her entire torso and made no attempt to appear provocative. It was armor, and she wore it as such. It too had the metal studs which allowed multiple layers to be held together. Her boots where classic and black, they were probably steel toed as well.

Her last notable feature was the crisscrossing tattoos on her arms and legs. They didn't appear to be of anything in particular, just brown splotches that had been inked on. Although, considering she was a faunas, it might have just been a skin pattern akin to birthmarks which ran over her body. Her hair was closer to orange then red, and it went well with her green eyes. It was hacked short, a process she'd watched happen shortly after they'd moved into their room. She used her own blade to haphazardly butcher her hair into a short cut which barely came to her ears. It was uneven, messy, mangled, and quite simply fit her barbarian ascetic too well to offer that she change it.

Sam was kitted out in her compression under layer. A long sleeve compression shirt and compression pants that disappeared into her shin-high boots comprised the majority of her outfit. Her more vulnerable and delicate parts were covered in a pair of pale green short shorts and a pale green half vest. She wore a black choker around her neck to provide a small bit of style, but she wasn't overly concerned about her appearance. Her long rifle was lain across the desk as if she were about to begin stripping it for cleaning. Considering none of her fellow teammates were using the desk, it seemed like a waste, not to mention she felt she could bring it to bear far easier from this position.

Felix was dressed as he usually did when he wasn't preparing for bed or headed to class. He was sharp, there was no denying it. His hair was mostly pulled back into a very neat ponytail. She recalled on the first day that it had been a bit shorter and he had it slicked back, but he likely preferred to fight with it unkempt. A few stray bangs hung around his face, but otherwise he was very neat. He wore a dress shirt and a black-blue vest over it. He was only missing a tie. His pants were clearly dress slacks, and he wore well shined boots at the bottom of it. They, surprisingly, didn't look out of place with the rest of his equipment.

He sat near the front edge of his chair, his blades crisscrossed on the back of his hip. The dress belt he wore was laced through the metal sheaths which they rested in. They were as strange as he was, more like butcher's knives than actual weapons. Each blade was composed of six interlocked segments which he could split with a trigger-like switch that rested in the handle. At its full length, she suspected it could extend to around fifteen feet in length, if you factored his arms into the equation that is.

They were as strange as their owner.

Like his personality, they had no true cutting edge or pointed tip. Any attempt to use them like an actual sword would have rendered them worthless. However, the true art to them came in their unique design and usage. Each segment had a small bit along the top which extended around an inch from the body of the blade. The cutting edge existed here, on the inside of those extensions, meaning you could only cut something by pulling it back onto them. Like tiny scythes, you must reach past and then reap your target like wheat.

She frowned, crossing her arms as she turned back to the front of the class. Better to pay attention to the task at hand then Felix and his awkward weapon. It was likely to just induce a headache instead of yielding any sort of positive results.

"Alright class," Mr. Arc said, clapping his hands together as he smiled to them, "Today, we're going to play a game I like to call 'Commander'." He turned to the board behind him and drew a box, placing three dots within it and one outside. He did this twice, once on either end, "The game is simple." He turned back to the class, smiling, "I will take your leaders and they will be absent from the fight. Their sole responsibility will be to observe and offer guidance to their team from outside of the actual fight. At the end of the three minute session, we will determine the 'winner' based on Aura levels."

"However, good command and attention to guidance will be the main factor in your grading." He crossed his arms, "Winning will not net you a better score like it would in a sparring match. The goal is not to defeat the opposing team, but to work well together in a scenario where decisions can be made from an uncompromised position."

"Now, the teams facing off against each other will be…" Jaune began going through the various other teams getting paired off, working his way around the room.

Sam slumped down in her chair as she lamented the scenario. This was the worst possible situation she could have been placed in. Is this what he was getting at yesterday? If so, she was completely unprepared and mildly furious. She would, without a doubt, earn a poor mark today. There was nothing she could do. They could fight a wall and she'd still likely fail.

The Felix Problem.

Sighing into her hand, she leaned forward and placed her face on her desk as she waited for their own assignment.

"Lastly, we will have our newly minted Team FLAN face off against Team JSPR (Jasper). Now, everyone let's proceed into the training room and get you all set up." Jaune finished, stepping from his position by his desk and heading towards the adjacent room.

They emerged into a large room with mats placed all over it. It was definitely spacious, intended to contain all six of the teams that attended the class. Besides that, it was pretty simple. It was a typical training room with matted floors, the only difference being that there were no chairs for observation like the sparring room had. Everyone participated in Jaune Arc's class.

The leader of the opposing team skipped up to her. She found him the least favorable of their match ups in all honesty, and that was if she ran all her ploys perfectly. Even with Felix operating as she desired, JSPR was not a team she would want to face in an Aura competition. Not only were they well-coordinated and their semblances functioned particularly well in conjunction with each other, they were all skilled fighters who naturally meshed. To top it off, their leader was particularly crafty.

Sam didn't much like watching him lead; it was like watching her own handiwork. Something about it was unnerving and unsettling. Working against someone who had just as many contingencies as she did meant it was a quick-draw competition, not a tactical one. Whoever could maneuver into checkmate fastest was going to win; the actual plan need not be good or precise. It was about speed more so than anything else.

To this end, she had to fight back a cruel sneer when Jay extended his hand, "Good luck out there Sam!" She shook it, offering a meager grin. Her right eye inspected him top to bottom as her left scurried off to watch her own team prepare themselves in the ring.

"Of course, you too Jay." She responded, withdrawing her hand quickly and gripping her rifle again. His eyes and grin lingered on her a moment before he turned and went to his side of the arena. She watched as the moment he turned away, he began to assess her own team. Sighing, she walked to her half of the arena to have a quick talk with her own team.

"Do you think it'll be fine if I just let loose this time?" Gracie asked, one foot propped up on the wrecking ball on the floor, her free hand slapping one of her biceps hopefully. Her massive sharp teeth beamed out at her 'leader'. They had a tenuous relationship. Gracie saw herself as the boss, but freely took orders. It was strange, and Sam couldn't help but wonder if her problem might someday double to include her as well.

"I think you should focus on using your attacks to limit their movement or funnel them to corners. Think overhead swings. I don't want you batting Olivia or Felix all over the box by swinging that beast around." She pointed down at the metal ball, before gesturing flippantly at the rest of her weapon as she spoke. Gracie frowned a little, but conceded with a simple nod.

"Bossy today, huh?" Olivia teased, holding her hands behind her back as she leaned down a little to make eye contact.

"I don't enjoy losing. Make sure you stay mobile, try to block what you can and pounce on any openings in their formation. The force of your dust-shields could easily knock someone off balance enough for Gracie to clean them up." Sam leaned around her, watching as Jay instructed his team as well. She frowned.

He gesticulated with his hands in a wild fashion. Everything about him was excitable and frantic. None of it revealed the mastermind hiding beneath his jovial mannerisms. She despised it, wanting nothing more than to best him. It was the only team she hadn't been able to sweep yet, and while some of the other teams might be able to beat them in certain events, she'd been fortunate enough to have been pit against them in battles she could easily maneuver herself and her only two assets into a winning position.

Which left only one thing left.

"Felix." She crossed her arms, craning her head up to try and catch his eyes.

"Sam," Felix put both his hands behind his head as he tilted his head up and away from her. He pursed his lips and frowned slightly.

"Just do whatever you want and stay out of everyone else's way." She practically hissed as she spoke.

"Yeah, yeah, you got it." As per usual, he sounded anything but enthusiastic. The only hope she had was that he played nice and didn't impede Gracie.

Content with what little instruction she could offer with the fight as it was, she took her position as 'commander' and waited for Jaune to approach and instruct them to begin. He had already started the first team, taking a few moments to observe them before re-briefing the second team. He kicked them off and she realized it would only be a few moments before their own team was set to task.

Sighing, she shook her head.

At last, after what felt like hours, but was only a few minutes, Jaune was briefing the fighters on their own rules for the battle. Once he appeared finished, they moved back to their opposing sides and got into their ready positions. She waited with bated breath for the signal. Taking the final moment to observe her teammates, she tried to determine their conditions in concern for the upcoming fight.

Gracie was eager, as she always was, coiled up on her toes as she prepared to launch herself at her competition. She would likely try to 'keep score' with Felix later on. Assuming he did anything measurable.

Olivia was set up in the middle, both her arms up. Earlier, she'd pat Gracie on the forearm while chatting with her. That was the tell-tale sign of her semblance, physical contact. Considering she hadn't been near Felix at all today, it was safe to assume she'd actually used it on someone who was worthwhile today. Usually she put it on him and cowered behind his whirling blades.

Felix seemed completely aloof, his weapons still sheathed as he watched the other teams competing. If he hadn't been in the ring, you could have mistaken him for an observer. Why didn't he want to take anything seriously?

"Commence." Jaune said, simply.

It all erupted at once, to no one's surprise.

She counted herself lucky; her team didn't have to face weapons that would make Ms. Ruby slobber, but the users were all very talented with their simple weapons. The roster included two swords, and a spear. If Jay had been on the field, they would have had a ranged weapon, but he wasn't nearly as quick with his bow as she was with her rifle. The other students in his team fought like fencers, and their lancer was honestly very good at splitting teams up from her previous observations. They knew how to force a duel, and then use their incessant attacks and blistering speed to end it quickly.

Unfortunately, they would have to deal with Gracie.

Even if Olivia and Felix were to sit out, Gracie would be a challenge if they attempted to fight her head on. Her ball and chain was menacing in her powerful hands, and she would make flanking her next to impossible and fighting her all at once would leave blind spots in their own vision that would eventually lead to a crushing blow if someone failed to dodge. Not to mention, she was amazingly skilled at multi-tasking. She may appear overly reliant on the weighted end of her dual weapon, but it might as well have been a trap in its own right. She could easily balance attacking a distant opponent with the chain extended while using the kama in her hand to fend off a closer foe. Her weapon allowed her to excise such control of the battlefield that it was almost a shame to put anyone near her.

Olivia knew her place, stay low, keep out of Gracie's way, and cover her back. That wasn't to say she couldn't defend herself, her 'weapon' amounted to a pair of bucklers charged up with fire dust that administered a punishing explosion if you made the error to connect with the shield's face. She was also lithe and agile enough to deflect most assaults with the lip instead, should she want to save her trump card for situations she couldn't control. The last feature was the magnetic feature she had cobbled into it. She could toss the bucklers like discs and retract them almost as quickly, and when so thrown the dust distributed itself along the lip to provide an explosive punch. Definitely not stock.

Honestly, Sam had never guessed that Olivia was a weapon nut. Well, when you assume something, or so they say.

The only _flaw_ in her plan was Felix.

Sure, he was a great fighter. Results speak for themselves. He just had no motivation and zero desire to conform to his team. His fighting style left something to be desired as well. It was fantastic for the sparring ring, where a one on one duel was forced upon both parties. He drew his opponents in, baiting them with his wild, nearly off-balance movements. Then he would lean out unsuspectingly and rake his blades against them, or more precisely their Aura. Bit by little bit, he would wear them down until Ms. Xao Long would call the match. Even if he did take some damage through the fight, his semblance fed off his tactics, and each blow would steal his foe's Aura for his own.

With all this in mind, she knew Jay's game plan before they even started.

Honestly, the best she could hope for in this fight was damage control. His team knew better than to engage Felix, and if they left him alone there was a good chance he would do the same for them. To that effect, they need only whittle Gracie and Olivia down enough to outweigh them on the score board. In a three on two bout, where one of your fighters is more of a defensive bulwark than a fighter, that was a pretty easy concept.

They were quick to jump on Gracie. There wasn't even an opportunity for her to get the ball rolling, which in this case wasn't just an idiom. Both their sword fighters, Sierra and Patton, kept an endless assault on Gracie, keeping her on her heels. Meanwhile, Reina brandished her lance and split Olivia away from the massive faunas who she relied upon and forced her to dance around flurries of lance jabs and sweeps.

Sam offered a couple of anecdotes to try and 'steer' her quickly sinking ship, but no advice in the world could account for them being outnumbered and outgunned. Her right eye darted over to her deadweight teammate, standing aimlessly along the sidelines. She ground her teeth painfully as she turned her entire frame towards him and yelled, "DAMMIT FELIX, DO SOMETHING!"

As much as she hated the idea, she had followed Mr. Arc's advice. Even when there were far more pressing issues on the field, she'd watched him with one eye the entire time. He hadn't reacted to the beginning of the match at all except for drawing his weapons. It was more than enough to discourage him as a target, and he had seemed completely content with that. However, when she yelled at him, she did notice something different.

In all the fights she'd seen him in; he usually stayed out of their way. He didn't interfere with her plans, as long as she hadn't included him in them, and he never interfered with their own battles. It was a far cry from the reckless action he'd taken during the entrance exam, shoving Olivia aside to shield her from an attack. That had seemed heroic and reckless, and she had originally been worried she'd be dealing with a stereotypical hero type. Someone who would throw himself on the first spear that presented itself if he thought it'd earn him respect or glory.

The only time he seemed to 'come alive' was when he faced something alone. When there was no one present but himself, he shined like the star she'd compared him to earlier. He was unstoppable and brutal and taunting. Fighting him was practically punishment. He would tire you out, chip away at you, and ultimately play with you in front of the entire class. It was humiliating to face him because there was nothing you could do. Well, hitting him meant certain victory; his Aura was about as thin as it came. So instead, he fought by dodging and avoiding direct confrontation. Dancing gracefully away from whoever was in front of him and constantly taunting them with openings which would slide out of reach at the last moment.

However, when she yelled out to him, her voice a mixture of anger and desperation, he had flinched. He hadn't just flinched, he had practically shivered. His gaze shot over his shoulder for a moment, and before it melted away behind a blank expression, she noticed a certain fear in those eyes. A fear she had never seen before. She felt her voice hitch in her throat for a moment, unable to deliver anymore words to the insignificant boy who she had just seen in those dead eyes. Then she snapped out of it.

She would get to the bottom of it later, but a deep part of her knew the best way to shove him into the fight. She yelled once more, this time in complete anger, "GRACIE, JUST KICK IT!"

* * *

They were completely stomped, and no amount of commanding could have changed that. What could she do? Tell her team to do things they already were trying to do, but had no ability to do? That was just senseless pressure. So instead, she had begrudgingly remained silent for most of the team battle. She stood with her team, both Gracie and Olivia covered in dirt and scrapes. They sat on the ground, metaphorically licking their wounds as they watched the victors celebrating across the ring.

Their match concluded before either of the others, as Mr. Arc elected that since Felix wasn't participating he essentially forfeit. The other two had their Auras shattered and couldn't continue the fight.

It was humiliating, and it was his fault.

"You and your team are permitted to take your leave. I imagine showers and conversations are in order."

"Thank you, Mr. Arc." Sam responded despondently. Her eyes were fixated on the man who stood apart from the team, gazing upwards and out of one of the skylights within the training room.

"Did you learn anything about Mr. Ardent?"

"Maybe," she bit her lip, turning on her heel and departing from the training room.

She knew it was rude, but if she stuck around any longer she would be tempted to talk to Felix immediately and yelling at him in this state would accomplish nothing.

There was always tomorrow.

* * *

**Was it as good for you as it was for me?**

**Get at me~**


	5. Chapter 5: Cornering (Felix) the Cat

**I tried to hold onto this one a little longer and give it better editing, I was also horribly insecure about how I portrayed the canon cast. It is a work in progress. As before, I**  
**really want to bring the into a more involved part in the story, but getting their voice and mannerisms is exceedingly difficult from me. Especially considering some of the**  
**cast resonate really well with me. I do my best to avoid having them arrive in the same chapter as characters that I'm exceedingly terrible at catching their voice.**

**To that effect, I've got a bit of Blake, Yang, and Ruby in here. Just saying!**

**Anyways, hope you enjoy. I had a great time with some of the later parts of this chapter.**

* * *

Felix sighed; the last few days hadn't been the easiest for him in a number of ways.

His teammate, Gracie, had elected that he was somehow worth her time and taken to shadowing him. Personally, he would have preferred if Olivia had done so instead. Her passive nature would have meant much less trouble on a daily basis. She would have likely realized how little he enjoyed talking and either left him alone or at least attempted to maintain the silence. Instead, he had paired up with a boisterous, rowdy, loud-mouthed, aggressive bone head.

Not that he had a choice. Sam had walked in and immediately paired off with Olivia on one half of the room, and the little lizard made it vehemently clear how little she cared for him. At least, that was the vibe he had from all the scrutiny she'd put him under. He almost laughed at her the first few times, thinking she was trying to put up a tough front. He imagined, at first, that she was trying to do like Gracie was doing. Establish dominance and superiority. However, as the first week passed them by and the second was beginning to set in, he'd recognized the look. It was all too familiar.

A leader's disappointment.

The only good news was the opening ceremony. Sam was declared the leader of their team, which heaved a massive weight off his shoulders. He didn't want to be their anchor anyway. If he could, he wanted to be as much a background piece as possible. He knew that, technically, he didn't need to actually do well as a teammate to succeed here. He figured if things went poorly enough, they'd shunt him to some remedial class and he'd be able to shuffle through the school and earn enough experience to take just enough missions to feed himself from job to job.

Of course he was wrong.

Now he was sitting with Professor Belladonna in the training room in some sort of detention. At least, that's what he figured. She hadn't assigned him anything resembling work, offered any idea of how he might cut this short or how many days he'd have to endure it, and worst of all she just sat there. It had been at least an hour so far, and she'd just sat there staring at him inquisitively. He had taken an arms crossed position, leaned back in his chair as he stared back. He was fantastic at competitions of silence.

"Mr. Ardent, we can sit here all day in silence or we can have a conversation and you can be on your way. I see no reason to keep you from your team and your weekend, but if you aren't going to open up a little about whatever is causing this dissonance then we are never going to solve it." She spoke matter-of-factly, but there was warmth to her tone.

He disliked it.

"I don't want to talk about it. My business is my own."

"Not if you continue allowing your personal affairs to invade your team's efforts to succeed."

"Then remove me from the team." He shrugged, doing his best to be nonchalant about it.

"That's not how Hunters operate, nor is it how Beacon works either. You worked hard to get here, and we acknowledge that. However, if you continue to demonstrate such anti-social behavior we will have no choice but to cut you from the program. Is that what you want?"

"Of course not, I want to be here." He sighed, looking away.

"Then you either need to talk to someone about what is causing you so much trouble, or push your ego aside and understand that you aren't alone on your team and they need you to be a part of it."

He sucked his teeth at the thought, frowning, "I don't understand how my performance in a team is as important to my performance as a hunter."

"Because hunting as a team is being a hunter. No man is an island, and a hunter is simply a man." She paused, almost thoughtfully.

"Or Faunas," he corrected her, slightly sarcastically.

"Yes, or a Faunas," she agreed, pushing his snarky attitude aside, "Listen, I can't make you believe me, but I can understand the idea of why you're doing this. I don't have to know your story to be able to see similarities between us." She was pacing now, and it only lent to his unease at being stuck here with her.

Felix sat up in his chair, his arms still crossed as he watched her.

"It isn't easy being forced together with people you don't know, being asked to do things that are against your character by someone who you have no real knowledge of. Yet, you're the only student who is causing such a problem. Everyone else is at least doing their best to fit in as much as they can and work with their team," She turned to look over her shoulder as the door opened on the far side of the room. Felix tilted in his chair to inspect the new arrival as well.

"Don't let me interrupt you, go right ahead. I can watch." The blonde woman, Professor Xiao Long, simply side stepped the door and leaned against the wall with a wide grin. Something about her comment elicited a sigh from Professor Belladonna, who shook her head before continuing.

"If you were attempting to work and didn't fit in at all, we might consider transferring you to a different team. However, the issue isn't because you can't fit into the team. It is because you yourself are fighting the system. You are consciously and active-," She was interrupted mid thought when Yang butted in.

"Oh, this is the butthead Jaune's been asking you to look into?" He had seen her in the training room for sparring class, but he had never really grasped how intimidating Professor Xiao Long truly could be. Standing beside Professor Belladonna, however, he could tell just how muscular she was, not to mention her presence was overpowering. It took a conscious effort to not immediately shrink into his chair, and even then he was certain nothing could hide his awe.

"Yes, and I don't think we should call them buttheads." Blake smiled to Yang, putting her hands on her hips.

"Eh, better than some of my other options," she turned her attention to him, "Can't play nice with the others, huh?" She smiled, "Well I have just the thing for this one, if you don't mind."

"No, please. I appreciate the help."

He wasn't sure if she glanced at him in that moment. He couldn't decide who he should have been paying attention to, but he was almost completely certain Professor Belladonna had shot him a knowing glance.

"Easy, this one loves brawling. Way too excited. He's been at it since day one. Well, the training room is my territory. You're gonna sit the sidelines every sparring session. I'll let Pyrrha know that you get to watch for practical class, not participate, and you can't use the training room in your off time." She grinned, "That is, until we hear you've made some progress."

"That seems like it might be a bit much Yang."

"Nah! Even if he gets a bit rusty, I don't think he'll fall off. Besides, if anyone knows how to avoid a problem it would be me." She reached up, flexing her mechanical arm with a wink.

Blake smiled, softly at first, but eventually she almost looked like she was trying to hold a giggle in as she spoke, "Very well. Until we hear word of progress, you won't be permitted to immerse yourself in the extracurricular activities you are hiding behind."

"But I'm not hiding in them!" He snapped back.

"Bang! See? Nailed it," Yang snickered, still grinning. It was infuriating, but he didn't dare let that spill forth. He imagined he'd have himself a proper 'training session' that he'd regret if he did.

"I guess he has my problem, but _your_ coping method." Blake was pulled into a half hug as Yang laughed.

"To be fair, it is kind of the opposite of me. Still, I could see it a mile off. I've only seen a few people concentrate like that, and it is definitely not positive."

"Pyrrah?"

"Pyrrah."

They both shook their heads slightly before Blake slid out from under Yang's arm.

"Alright, that's the stipulation. Until you receive Yang's blessing, we won't see you dress out for any of the combat classes. We also forbid you from using the facilities off school hours. I can assure you that you don't want to try and pull one over on us."

"Understood," He frowned, looking away, "Can I go now?"

"That depends, are you feeling talkative?" Blake offered one last time.

"No, I have studying to do."

"Very well, I'll see you tomorrow for class."

Felix stood, politely offering a slight tip of his head before stepping around them and leaving with as much composure as he could manage.

"So you don't think that's a bit extreme?" Blake asked Yang as the door shut.

"Nah, it'll drive him up the wall by next Monday and he'll be chomping at the bit to get the restriction lifted. It won't solve the problem, but it should at least get him to step the right way for a bit, ya know?" She grinned, offering a soft chop at her nose.

"I'm surprised you didn't have a joke for that."

"Oh, I've got one every time, I just didn't think it was appropriate."

"Careful, I might think you're finally maturing."

"I don't think you'd be able to handle me being matronly."

"Last I checked you're the one that can't handle me."

"Blake! I'm so proud! I'm finally rubbing off on you." Yang gave her a sly wink, throwing an arm over her shoulder as they started to leave.

"There she is. I was starting to worry."

* * *

"Felix, you look upset." Olivia dangled her legs off the bed, kicking them to music playing in the single headphone she had in. The other was tucked into the neck of her sleep shirt in case she decided to use it. She watched their quietest partner brood into his scroll in his corner.

"I'm fine."

She hummed thoughtfully, leaning forward just a little as she tried to maneuver into his peripheral vision, "Pursed lips and reviewing the same notes for the fourth time in a row is fine?" Her lilting voice made it nearly impossible to get made at her.

Nearly.

"If I say I'm fine, I'm fine." He glanced sideways from his scroll, keeping his head buried in the material in order to come off as irritable as possible.

"Oh leave it Livy," Sam snapped at Felix, "If he wants to mope. Let him mope." She had been particularly testy with him since last Friday, and outside of indirectly addressing him, they hadn't spoken two words to each other.

He would have thanked her for the backhanded assistance, but that would have meant opening a conversation with her. The only thing he wanted less than his current punishment was to be cornered into a conversation by their team's leader. He couldn't put his finger on it, but she seemed insistent on getting him alone so she could have a word with him. He wasn't about to give her the satisfaction for a number of reasons. The top of that list was that, to be honest, she scared him.

She was a perfect five foot, and when she wasn't distracted with a particular thought she looked at the world as if it were going to try and eat her. Yet, early in their first week she'd pulled Gracie aside and had a discussion with her. When Gracie returned, it was with significantly less bluster, at least for a day or two. Considering Gracie was a broad, powerful woman who had every intention of being the top dog on the team, if one little conversation that never even left the room had cowed her.

Well, he wasn't about to face that monster.

"Sam, I just think we should talk to him. You might not have notic-"

"He stormed in here like a child throwing a temper tantrum, practically begging us to investigate the cause. Then, like said child, he curled up in his corner and dived into his scroll. I have a lot of siblings, all of them do it. If he wants to pout, let him pout." Sam crossed her arms, her towel draped over her shoulder as she leaned against the closet door. She had been waiting for the shower for a while, and it was definitely starting to test her patience. Gracie had a lot to clean, but she took way longer than anyone else.

At least Felix did his hair in the room.

Olivia glanced back and forth between the two. She hadn't had siblings, but somehow she imagined it would be a lot like this. It was rather entertaining if she were to voice her opinion, however she'd learned that some things were better left unsaid. At the same time, it was a little annoying to watch them argue constantly. Even if it wasn't words, their silent bickering was starting to grate on her nerves. Which was odd, she never thought something so small and simple would make her so irritated. All she wanted was for them to make up and things to calm down.

She was starting to think Sam might try to murder him in his sleep.

At last, Gracie came out of the bathroom, ruffling her hair in her towel. She grinned toothily at Sam, "All you half-pint."

"Thank you Gracie." She replied, slipping around her and going into the bathroom. The door shut with a click at almost the same moment Gracie dropped onto her bed with a loud sigh of relief.

"That was fantastic. I love a shower after a long day." She looked up and smiled at Olivia, "Don't know how you do it in the morning instead."

"I like to smell fresh and nice as we go through class. If I'm careful, I don't need to worry about doing it twice if I decide I want to go out after class." She grinned, scooting back up onto her bed and pulling her scroll out.

"Well, whatever works for you? How long does it take you, shrimp?"

"We're the same height." Felix sighed into his scroll, avoiding the question.

"Yeah, but you're all skinny, maybe if you had some muscle you'd have something to motivate you to give me a scuffle!"

He grumbled in response, flicking his finger over the scroll in a dramatic and sarcastic fashion. Olivia almost laughed, Gracie bubbling with her characteristic rage at his actions.

"So, seriously," She growled, doing her best to be cordial. Olivia recalled that Sam had instructed her to be nothing else when dealing with him, "How long does it take you to get ready in the morning? You spend a lot of time on your hair."

"As much as I need," he leaned to the side slightly, as opposed to moving his scroll. When their eyes locked, he gave her the same deadpan expression that he wore at every moment of the day.

It was the tipping point.

"You're a real rotten son of a bitch, aren't you?" Gracie jumped to her feet in her sleep shirt, cracking her knuckles as she squared him up. Felix offered a shrug as he turned his attention back to his scroll. Olivia squirmed off her bed and stood between them.

"Gracie, if you get too loud and Sam stops half way through her shower you know how mad she'll be!" She was turned completely towards the six foot tall monstrosity. Honestly, Gracie might have been more muscle than faunas. She responded to Olivia with a snarl, dropping her hands back to her side.

"Fine, I'm going to the cafeteria to get a snack from the vending machine. You coming?" She turned around, grabbing her pants off her bed and stepping into them angrily.

"Uh, sure…" Olivia glanced over her shoulder at Felix before stepping into her slippers and slinking out of the room behind Gracie.

Felix winced slightly when Gracie slammed the door. He was happy for the silence, and a quick check of his scroll told him that he had a solid few minutes before Sam would be done showering anyway. They would easily be back before then, even if Gracie felt the need to stomp around the halls first. He relaxed into his bed and flipped the page he was looking at in a combat instruction manual and began viewing some of the instructional material for a variety of weapons.

He hummed a little as he watched a few of the videos on mute, noting how similarly some of the other students fought. There wasn't a way to track his own combat style like this, and yet people always seemed so unprepared when they faced a new weapon. Here he was, learning everything he'd need about lances and swords. He considered bringing it up, but again, he wasn't about to change his tactics concerning his teammates.

He smiled to himself as he ticked to a video concerning picking shooting positions and sniping. The other two members on his team fought in their own unique way, a big reason he believed they were able to do so well against most other teams so far. Gracie had a weapon that was already strange, and overall it didn't even fit her mentality or approach. All the more reason it served as a fantastic weapon for her, opponents couldn't pit her psyche against her because her weapon was designed to force restraint and measure on her actions. She had a great head for combat. Olivia used a pair of shields, so obviously there wasn't anything to characterize her combat aesthetics by.

Not that she really fought.

That only left Sam, who likely didn't wage battle from close quarters very often. He figured it would be useful to know what she might think and decide, in case he was ever being pit against her. If he understood her weapon better, it would be easier to determine where she might put her semblance and where she would try to begin battles. It might give him some more insight into her as a person so he could focus on staying out of her way and out of her hair.

"Dead Center," he nodded, agreeing with the concept as he went over the trouble of trying to mentally crunch the numbers he was looking at, "They often look immediately to the sides if you fire only a single shot. Thus, being directly in front or behind a target is the most advantageous position."

"Though wind is probably a solid factor," Felix said, pausing as he finished. He looked up and realized that he hadn't started the conversation. Turning his head, he would have jumped if he had any space left in his bed. Sitting on the dresser in her sleep clothes was Sam, glaring indignantly at him as always. "What do you want?" he said, pulling his scroll out of sight.

"I was just curious what you were looking at. You don't usually show a break in this little…" she gestured at his face with a single hand," _Façade_ of yours."

"It isn't a façade, it's my face." He responded with finality.

"Don't play this game with me. We were literally just talking, so you're not allowed to snap back from me. Just ask me what you want to know. It will be faster." She had one leg dangling off the front of the dresser and her other pulled up so she could rest her chin on it. For a chameleon, she was remarkably pale, like porcelain.

He pushed himself up into a straighter position and tilted his body so it faced towards her. He kept his back to the wall and crossed his extended legs, which were pointed towards her so as to create some kind of barrier between them. "Fine, tell me about how you fight."

"My weapon, my thoughts, or my style," she crossed her arms around her leg, the free one making a light tapping sound against the dresser as her head tilted curiously. The only question in her words was expressed in her body language. Her tone was monotone.

It was like speaking to himself.

"Tell me about your weapon." He offered, responding in kind.

"My rifle is called Apophis. She is designed with several ideas in mind. Firstly, I wish to have access to normal rounds which I can load for a semi-automatic firing pattern. She is capable of holding a magazine of ten rounds of conventional ammunition, and I carry five spare as well. This means I can shoot her 60 times in a conventional fight." She paused, slowly tilting her head in the other direction. Her two eyes, which blinked very rarely, continued to watch him. They were empty of expression in much the same her voice was.

"She has a second receiver that I took two years to develop which allows me to seat a much larger Dust round into-"

"The Bolt," Felix responded, nodding as he furrowed his brow.

"Yes, the bolt-action receiver. It is designed to push the previous round back into its housing and fire the dust round instead. Did you have a question?" She tilted her face so her lips disappeared behind the knee they'd been resting on.

"If the round is larger, then if the barrel is accommodating it, wouldn't the rifling be ineffective on the traditional rounds?"

"Only if the actual round fired by the dust round was larger than the traditional bullets. I hand machine the ammunition. It has a larger casing, but the actual round fired is the same size. The effect of the dust increases force, speed, and causes a variety of effects. The casing is mostly the dust, as well as an ignition source. That's the trick that took me so long, learning to make the bullets."

"So you're telling me you invented a new round… solely because you didn't want to create a second trigger mechanism or use a dual barrel system?"

"It was to limit the weight. I didn't want it to be overly heavy, and I didn't want to have a barrel that was too long." She paused; her lips were still hidden behind her leg. They were concealing a tiny smile as she fed out the bait.

"Decelerating the non-dust rounds."

"Exactly."

"That's rather ingenious."

"Shall I go on?"

"Please do."

"The other feature on Apophis is her bladed barrel. Inevitably, I will run out of ammunition or be accosted in close quarters. I required an alternative option not afforded by the nature of the weapon and elected for attaching a thin blade along most of the barrel. In order to prevent cutting myself as well as steadying usage of her main tactic, I installed a grip before the blade begins so as to prevent personal injury."

"I noticed." He looked away, thoughtful for a moment, "May I suggest something?"

"Go ahead."

"Have you considered creating a different feature? As she is, using her in that scenario would be ineffective at best. It is both predictable and static in its capabilities. The only effective attack is a downward chop, and such a forward grip leaves you vulnerable even if they don't see the attack coming."

"I have, do you have a suggestion?"

"I would need to go over the design more for something like that."

"I work on her in the armory every day after class. I clean her even when I don't shoot her. You are welcome to come and help if you wish. I do not have designs, but disassembling her will allow you to glean any information you desire."

Felix hummed, reaching up to rub his chin, "I will consider it."

"Did you wish to review my style or thoughts?" Her chin came back up to rest on her knee. Felix felt the first conversation come to an end and the second one threaten to begin. He narrowed his eyes a little as he looked down to his scroll. It had been significantly faster than reviewing the documentation.

"Fine, style then," his voice was resigned, but he wasn't going to pass up on something that might save him time. Not to mention as soon as Olivia and Gracie returned, this conversation would end. He could endure that much.

"I like to use my semblance before combat breaks out if at all possible. In short, it allows me to return to both the position and stance I was in when I placed it. Logistically speaking, if I were laying down when I placed it, while facing north, when I travel back to that location I will be laying down facing north. None of the motion or actions I am currently engaged in travel with me. There is no continuity of force. If I were falling, it is as if I had never been falling."

"Easy enough to grasp," he responded, glancing to the door. They should be back any minute.

She smiled to herself, dipping her lips behind her knee again to hide it. He was expecting their team to return soon but when they left she had cut her shower short and used her own scroll to instruct them to wait a little bit first. She was curious if getting him alone and attacking his interests might at least get him to talk. He likely wouldn't seek a conversation, but it was a start.

"So typically, before a fight, I enjoy setting them in positions that are far from where we should initially be engaging. This way I have options to choose from during the thick of the fight in order to reposition and return to supporting as quickly as possible."

"Simple and effective."

"My weapon fires in straight lines. Simplicity is the best tactic. However, unpredictability at range is my greatest ally as well. So I need to anticipate my enemies thought process as well as how they are going to react to my attacks in order to utilize my attacks best."

"So why not hop around constantly? The report from your weapon gives you away, so you need to conceal yourself after every shot."

"My semblance is a one-time use. After I use it, I have to reset everything. I would spend the entire fight running around if I used it freely."

"So you set it somewhere they likely won't think you could attack from-"

"Right, in order to provide the most amount of time to reorganize myself and limit their ability to relocate me."

"So like you said before…" he trailed off a moment.

"Directly in front, or directly behind," she finished after a moment, ensuring he wouldn't continue himself, "The first few reports, if close enough, are difficult to pin point in the heat of battle. It means their instinct is to check their sides. I often attempt to aim for arms or legs with those shots as well. If you clip the edge, it still registers in the brain as a direct hit and so they are likely to look to the side they were struck from instead."

"Further increasing the time you have to make shots from your first position."

"Yes, exactly, it pays off the best when an opponent is disoriented. They get confused and can't pick out the location of the attack as quickly." She practically hummed as she spoke this time, glancing elsewhere for the first time in the conversation.

In fact, she wasn't particularly fixated on Felix at all anymore. When had that happened? She was now leaning her back against the window, gazing across the room with both legs dropped off the dresser. Her eyes were far away, like she was trying to imagine the fight she was describing. It was a strange thing to picture, but not bizarre. He had also been distracted trying to imagine the perspective from her perch in battle and weigh possible locations for her semblance in relation to the scenario.

"Fine, how about your thoughts?" He wanted to wrap the conversation up. She gave him three options; he had reached the end and covered the bases in between. This would be it.

"I would like to talk about this stuff more often." She pulled her scroll out and tapped it a few times before hopping off the dresser. Readjusting her sleep shirt, she turned just enough to tilt an eye at him as she walked to her bed.

"Good night." She was wrapped up in her blanket and huddled in the awkward seated position she slept in almost immediately.

And he was left holding the bag as Gracie and Olivia came in talking about something that had Gracie all in a huff.

"Well I'll rip his arms off if he tries it again! You just come tell me!" She grumbled as she tossed the wrapper for whatever she'd gotten in the cafeteria on the floor by her bed. Felix narrowed his eyes a little, for several reasons. "What's got you all flustered?" She responded, practically jumping into her bed and claiming some of their shared foot space while he was still propped up.

"Nothing has me flustered," He responded, picking his scroll up and laid down.

Olivia giggled as the two of them silently kicked each other's feet for a few moments, but stifled it when they both shot her a vindictive glare. She lifted her hands slowly in mock surrender, sparking them to finish their battle. As she slid over to the light switch, she looked around the room to take account. Sam was curled up in her corner, Felix was lying perfectly on his back with his legs straight and his scroll in his face, and Gracie was spread eagle with one leg hanging unceremoniously off the bed and out of her covers. In the end, they weren't even in each-others way. Her team was pretty silly.

Shaking her head, she hit the switch.

* * *

It was already Monday again, and he'd gone an entire week without training in any capacity. He was antsy at every turn. He wasn't able to expend his energy in any significant fashion and reading technical documentation only appeased his thoughts. He was practically chewing on his last nerves. Not only that, but Sam had been giving him expectant looks near the end of the school day the entire time. He had done everything in his power to avoid arriving for her weapon maintenance.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't interested, but he had already lost their first battle and he felt this would be capitulating further. However, in the end, it was like everything had timed up perfectly that he had energy to spare, time to kill, and nothing to do. Gracie had run off to practice fighting and Olivia had gone to cheer her on and probably hold her sweat rag.

Or something like that, Olivia was weird.

Now he stood in the doorway to the armory, which was technically closed an hour ago. He realized rather quickly, however, why she was able to use the facilities during off hours. Two pairs of eyes gazed up at him from the floor where they had elected to do their work. It was likely due to the fact that they apparently enjoyed spreading their work all around them. It was practically a mine field of tiny, delicate metal pieces.

"Hello!" The silver eyed woman, Ruby, chirped from her kneeling position among all the parts.

"Hi…" he muttered, trying to discern a path that would lead towards them. As he looked up, Sam offered him the tiniest grin as she stood up and delicately picked her way through the mess. As she alighted beside him he realized that her pale feet were bare.

"You'll never get there in your boots," She pointed to the shoes carefully set beside the door. He nearly groaned, but this wasn't his turf. He unceremoniously bent over and undid the laces on his shoes.

"Woah, I bet you can do the splits too huh?" Ruby marveled. Felix craned his head straight up, realizing he'd bent over without bending his knees at all. It just seemed like the fastest route in his mind, not particularly fascinating.

"I can," he replied hesitantly. He wasn't sure how to handle the conversation that was starting.

"I've seen it myself, actually," Sam answered for him, taking measured steps through the debris. The most amazing part about it was that the delicacy of her movements was completely unmonitored. She moved through with grace, and yet as if it was second nature. The obstacles meant nothing to her.

"He doesn't look like the kind of person who'd show off… like Weiss." Ruby stated, turning to clear some of the parts near them so he would have a place to sit once he got over there.

"Oh, he wasn't showing off. He was in a particularly tight match with Team JCGX's leader."

"Ooo, you mean Jack? He's a fun guy! He comes in on Tuesdays in the morning." She changed expressions like a pixie. Her face seemed torn that she was interrupting the story, but she was equally eager to start the rambling madness that came next.

"Have you seen his weapon? Oh man, who knew a glove could be so cool!" She started tallying the features on one hand as she spoke, her tempo increasing every few words. It was amazing she could talk so fast.

"I mean, the alloy composite is amazing. It can bend even farther than his fingers. Then he has the coiling mechanism for the dust chamber. I mean it has a completely self-designed repository system that stores it in those little spaces in between. Oooo, and the spinner system!" She ginned as she stopped to look up. Felix had paused mid motion, his expression said all it needed to. Somewhere along the way he had either lost track of the conversation, or no longer understood her due to the speed of her speech. Sam was nodding, her expression rather pleasant. "Oh, Sorry. I was excited. Maybe I can get him to come next time. That'd be great! He'd love Apophos."

"That would be nice," Sam had returned to her work, and Felix was now cautiously tip toeing through the mechanical menagerie towards the space Ruby had cleared for him. He did his level best to maintain some composure in his motions, but that hadn't seemed to stop Ruby from giggling at how concerned he looked with each step, "So Jack was throwing needles all over the training room so his little dust wires made moving around the field a pain. It made sense. Limiting Felix's movements would make it easier to beat him."

Felix was embarrassed, whether it was from teetering around like an idiot, or hearing someone brag about his abilities, he wasn't sure. All he knew is that any composure he maintained was likely overshadowed by his blushing.

"Well, Felix didn't know where the traps were, but they are equally effective at limiting Jack from moving around the ring." Sam was busy assembling some anomalous part of her intricate rifle. He had no idea there were so many parts, and in fact didn't realize it had so many parts to it. It was clearly more complicated than a simple rifle.

"Oooo, did he do a split kick?" Ruby spoke quickly. She was clearly enraptured, "That would be pretty cool to see! Like, POW!" She threw a punch into the air, "Right in the chest."

"What? No! That's way too high energy for him." Sam giggled with her, jerking her head over her shoulder at her teammate. Felix had almost reached his spot, but he stopped suddenly as they both looked over at him. "Do you think he has the flare for something so cool?"

"Hmmm," She rubbed her chin a little while looking at him, then smiled, "Nah, I guess not. Still cool though, you should try it!" She offered him a thumb up.

"No, he slipped under a wire to chase Jack, and when he tried to punch him, instead of leaning back or stepping away, he dropped straight to the ground and punched him in the gut with his blades."

"He stab-punched him? From a split? That's amazing! I bet Yang LOVED it! Just, WOOSH!" she ducked her head slightly imitating dropping low, "And POW!" followed by a punch at the air in front of her

"Pretty much," Sam waved a hand over her shoulder dismissively, "It really is more like punching him with metal. So Yang had a good laugh over it."

"Still, a flat split like that is pretty cool for dodging. I wish I could do that. I'd probably rip my leggings." Ruby glanced over as Felix finally sat down in the empty space she'd made for him.

"Well, the kicker to the story is he still pushed him into one of the wires. Only it blew them both up, so neither of them won."

"Aww that's so LAME! Next time bud." Ruby clapped Felix on the back. He sat forward hard, completely unprepared for being hit so hard. Sam shrugged, inspecting the bolt mechanism she'd finished putting together while telling the story. After she decided it was complete, she handed it to Felix before rummaging around to begin reassembling something else.

Ruby grinned, "So did you want me to go grab your stuff, or did you bring it, or do you keep it elsewhere?" Felix tilted his head as he realized she was speaking to him. He looked around for a minute before answering.

"I don't think I have room to work on it." He replied, his eyes returning to inspect the bolt mechanism Sam had discussed the day before.

"Nah, I'll just pick up Crescent Rose's parts and get them out of the way and you'll have plenty of space."

"Wait, what?" He looked up from the device in his hand and glanced around. Now that he was among everything he realized that there were far too many parts for just a single weapon. If he looked hard enough, he could pick out which parts appeared to go to Sam's weapon, but they were all mixed in together! He looked up to Ruby and then back to the mess, "How the hell do you two know which is which so easily?"

They both looked at him, which only served to make their responses scarier than intended, "A mother can always identify her child." Ruby replied. Sam just gave him a cold stare and a single nod.

Felix blinked a few times, nodding, "Alright. Just, that'll be fine then."

"Okay _Mr._ Ardent! I'll be back in a jiffy!" Ruby jumped up and a deluge of rose petals replaced her in the location she'd been in. Shaking his head, Felix put himself to task inspecting the pride of Sam's weapon.

"This will be good, I wanted to see what makes your weapon work," Sam lifted what she was working on up to the light as she spoke. Felix didn't respond, but somehow he felt as if it wouldn't have mattered if he had. She was lost in her work and simply offering idle chatter.

It wasn't an uncomfortable feeling.

He admired the bolt mechanism for a little while as Ruby returned and began mopping up the pieces for her Crescent Rose. She worked like a woman possessed, reassembling a horribly complicated, but surprisingly brilliant, Scythe. Clearly there was more to it, but he couldn't discern exactly what that might have been with the sheer speed of her assembly and the complexity of the parts. If he had to guess… he was fairly certain she had assembled some kind of firing mechanism as well. That was the best he could manage.

He was too distracted admiring Sam's handiwork. It was truly ingenious, and more so than she made it sound. It was longer and had a deeper well, it was obvious in its design how it fit into the rest of the device. Miming in his hands, he placed it on top of the chamber and sliding the elongated end of it into the butt of the rifle. Clearly there had been other modifications to the weapon in order to get everything to mesh, but it made sense in its design. It would just force the smaller round back into the magazine seated below and locking the bolt forward would prevent it from pushing up and jamming the weapon. It was also designed to alter the trigger to utilize an alternate hammer so that it didn't need two firing mechanisms. The piece de resistance came in the fact that without pressure, it would create a closed seal over top so the other rounds could be fired normally.

"If you stare any harder I'm going to take it to a copyright office immediately after we're done here." Sam chided, extending her hand. Apparently he had gotten pretty worked up over it, as she had completely assembled the rest of her rifle in that time. Not only that, but Ruby had finished with her own weapon, and stored it in the armory already.

This meant not only was he preventing Sam from finishing her work, but his weapons were sitting alone on the freshly cleared sheet which lay in the lobby.

Blushing slightly, but maintaining as much of his blank expression as he could manage, he handed her the bolt, watching her seat it with a satisfying clicking sound. She held it up to her ear and shook it a little, then slid the bolt around a few times before setting it aside with a curt nod. "Alright, let's see how these work." Sam and Ruby both smiled.

He pushed one of the blades to his side and picked the other one up. Looking it over a moment, he turned it back and forth a few times before he pressed the release switch. A satisfying click echoed around them and the bladed segments fell to a pile near his lap. Carefully, he pulled the segments apart piece by piece. It was fairly modular, so after a little tinkering, he had split the weapon into several pieces. Each of the blade segments was an individual piece, but the actual steel fiber that kept it together while it was extended was actually just one long segment woven into the actual handle.

Carefully, he coiled the fiber around the handle of the blade and set it aside. He picked up one of the blade segments and offered it to Sam, then another to Ruby. He chewed his lip a moment while he considered explaining some about his weapon, but he decided against it. Instead, he picked up one of the left over segments and disassembled it. The internal parts were slightly more complicated than they let on, but still not on the complexity level of either of the ladies masterpieces.

"I think I get it," Sam looked up to Ruby, extending her own disassembled blade segment towards her. She quickly started pointing at pieces and elaborating on it, "So here, this actually pinches it onto the fibers so that it doesn't get disjointed while extended, but it is a pinch system. You just coil it around here and leave it loose. The metal segments are interlocking, and they have this central piece for threading a specific set of the fibers to provide a central stabilization piece.

Felix carefully cleaned the disconnected pieces as he listened to her describe his own weapon. She was mostly right so far, although there were a few more intricate details she'd either missed or glazed over. Either way, it was rather succinct.

"Are you sure Sam? I actually saw something different. See?" She extended the piece she'd been given. The only thing they'd done so far that hadn't surprised him was how quickly and professionally they'd taken his weapon apart. If he were surprised at how easily they could figure out his fairly straight forward weapon, that would be an insult to them just as much as it would be pretentious. After all, the bolt for Apophos was physically more complicated than his entire weapon, and that was before you added that it was a modular piece that didn't affect the function of the weapon. She could literally lose the bolt and it wouldn't change her ability to use it.

"The wires can't be normal because there is no way for it to retract," Ruby continued, "That'd be kinda useless." She grinned, turning the piece around, "Plus, it has a handful of gears and pivot pieces that aren't part of the wire construct. See?" She practically glowed as she scooched forward and practically placed the tops of their heads together as they studied the piece. He smirked a little, figuring it might actually be more fun to let them figure it out.

He set the spare four pieces he'd cleaned beside them as he pulled the handle back up. Carefully uncoiling the fibers from it, he pooled it in his lap and began disassembling the hilt. He heard their murmuring beside him as they continued to inspect the blade pieces; it almost felt rude to start on the most interesting part without them.

"Excuse me?" He cleared his throat a little as he pulled the handle in half to reveal its inner workings. They both looked away from their own musings and fixated on him. He lifted his hands gently to draw their attention to the hilt of the weapon, and away from him. Ruby leaned in so quickly and so closely that he couldn't see what he was working on. She was practically in his lap trying to inspect the object. She exhaled for so long that he wasn't sure how she managed to keep so much air in her lungs. Sam had seized his other hand and pulled the weapon half towards her instead of coming to look at it.

Either way, the effect was the same. He had no control over the situation, his body slightly pulled in one direction while he tried to hold the other hand as still as possible so both women could look at both halves of the handle. "Do you two think… you could back up and let me go?" He offered, nervously.

Ruby sat back, "Sorry, got excited."

He sighed, nodding in reply.

Sam sat down and replaced his hand before releasing him.

Frowning slightly, he took a deep breath before he launched into his explanation at the same time as he began cleaning the weapon. "The wires are actually normal; the trick is in a locking mechanism that is mechanically wound." He pointed to where the trigger switch was and the gear work that attached to it that went through the handle, "When I punch this the spring tries to wind up. The click is actually it hitting its release point, or tension. Either one will trigger it to go slack and unwind or lock up. It depends entirely on if it is currently locked or not." He pointed to a tiny pin, "That's the lock. When it winds all the way up, it just gets knocked into place by the fibers. If I press the trigger while the lock is in… it knocks it out. That's it."

"Wow, it is really simple isn't it?" Sam frowned, slowly reassembling the blade segments which were still disassembled.

"In function, but cleaning is difficult. If I get the wires tangled when I rethread it, the first time I try to wind it back it'll snap and I'll have a useless handle. At least until I can get more fibers."

"Where _do_ you get fibers like this?" Sam asked. She had pulled the other weapon up and unlocked it so she could inspect the weapon in its completed state.

"Probably the only interesting piece about my weapon actually," Felix smiled to himself, it was slightly melancholy as opposed to pleased, "I have to strain them out myself. It is a simple process, once you know how it works, but it essentially involves a lot of heat, a brick of steel, and patience." He exhaled, shaking his head softly as he started putting everything back together.

The process actually took a significant amount of time. After he had reassembled the handle and all the parts, he had to lay everything out and carefully thread the blades through the fibers. At the very end, he pulled a few of the furthest back strands and fed them through a circular recess in the back of each segment before he placed the final segment on and locked the wires down. Unlike the previous two weapons, his process involved a lot of banging and smashing. It wasn't delicate or elegant or artistic in how you had to seat everything.

At last, he was done.

Standing up, he gave a whipping motion with his wrist in order to flick out some of the weapon, then he pressed the trigger and it snapped back into place neatly. He grinned, sitting back down, "Done. That's all there is to it."

Sam smiled, handing him the other weapon, "I think it is rather fitting."

"I think it could do WAY more!" Ruby smiled, "Like, the weapon already looks like a saw blade sort of, what if you made it like a chainsaw! Vroom! Cut through the competition!" She waved her hands together in a motion like she was trying to cut something apart with the imaginary weapon.

"I would rather not…" He grimaced a little at the thought, "Seems a little much."

"Ah, you're no fun!" She extended her hands for his blades. He returned them to her and she gathered them up with Apophros, "ALLLLright, we gotta close up. I gotta get home and we've played enough for today. Tomorrow?" Ruby looked brightly at Sam.

"Of course Ruby, have a good evening." She walked over and started putting her boots on as Ruby disappeared into the back.

Following suit, Felix stepped into his boots and hiked his pants up enough to lace them up tightly. Standing back up, he stepped forward and held the door open for Sam. They stepped out into the hallway and started walking in the direction of the dorm rooms. It wasn't particularly late; in fact it wasn't even dark yet. A part of him wondered what Olivia and Gracie were up to right then.

Probably boys or trouble if he had to hazard a guess.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" He was shaken from his thoughts as Sam bumped into him. He had replied before he could even think.

"I did." He watched her curiously. She was a strange girl in a lot of ways, but the most prominent was her demeanor. Somehow, she managed to exude both confidence and fear at the same time. He only noticed the second one because it had quickly entered her actions when they left the safety of the armory.

First had been her eyes, darting around to study and examine everything they could get a hold of. He didn't think he'd ever get used to how they seemed to roll around freely. It was uncanny. She didn't even seem to notice she did it, or how uncomfortable someone was when she only gave them one eye of attention. It was unnerving to have someone's focus in one eye, and to watch as the other popped from thing to thing with equal focus.

The second indicator had been how close she stuck to him. He had chosen to slow his stride down so she could keep up with him; at least as soon as he had noticed she was practically jogging. She had fallen in so close to him that he had crossed his arms to avoid bumping his hand against hers. This had simply removed some of the obstacles between them and she had managed to slink in to that space as well.

He could have clipped her to his belt loop.

She didn't seem to prod for much more after he replied though, only glancing down and smirking to herself. He couldn't call it a smile as it was much too smug for that. He decided not to think about it too much. She had beaten Gracie with words; he knew she would have gotten what she wanted if she'd cornered him. He figured he'd let her have her moment.

"May I ask you a question?" She posed, glancing up at him. There it was again. Her right eye, which was closest, looked to him, but her left remained focused on the path in front of them. He shivered slightly.

"I can't stop you." Now that he wasn't needling through a mess of weapon parts and they were mostly alone, it was easier for him to keep himself in check. Not to mention if he leaned ever so slightly he could block her out a little with their height difference. It gave him a slightly more dominant position. Unlike the other night, when sitting on the dresser allowed her to look down at him, he could now use the full height advantage he had over her. In his mind, the tables were turned.

"How do you think we could have beaten Team JSPR two weeks ago?" She smiled. Of course she would go to tactics next. That was her forte, and their previous discussions naturally led to this coming to pass at some point.

"Do you want my serious answer, or is this some kind of test." He came to a stop suddenly, but even that didn't shake her. It was like she could see something he couldn't. She was still right beside him.

"Serious answer, Gracie doesn't have the same grasp for tactical combat despite her skill. Olivia probably doesn't care, she is happy following orders and so she doesn't really think about them."

"How do you know my opinion will be any better?"

"You're from Atlas, right?" They had started walking again, mostly because the moment she brought his home up he found that he wanted an excuse to avoid eye contact.

"I am."

"So you likely attended the military academy. At least if you're here. That's the only school I know in the city that has a rigorous enough regimen to produce a hunter."

"I did." He answered hesitantly, scratching his fingers against his forearm softly.

"So then you have some grasp for military strategy."

"In a larger scale, sure." He physically looked away from her this time as they rounded the corner towards the dorms and started down the hall towards their team's room.

"Small scale engagements mirror those engagements, but I'm sure you know this."

"I do," he sighed, "So you want to know my opinion?"

"I do," she mimicked, opening the door to their room and allowing him to go first. He stepped inside and worked his way to the far side of the room to sit down on his bed. He removed his boots and neatly tucked them under his bed before he began tidying up.

"Stop using Gracie as a battering ram, stop letting Olivia cower in her corner at her back." He busied himself consolidating dirty clothes in a pile and stuffing Gracie's various food trash into a bag he'd grabbed during his work.

"That's not a lot to go off of you know," Sam said from somewhere behind him. He guessed she was sitting on her bed watching him work. No one helped him clean up, likely because they enjoyed how thorough he was, and the organization did make him feel good so he didn't particularly mind. Still, it would be nice if Gracie didn't just throw _everything_ on the floor. He glared at a set of her underwear he promptly lobbed over his shoulder into the dirty clothes pile, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Assuming we disregard their semblances for a moment, they both use uncharacteristic weapons." He paused, considering his statement for a moment, "Well, uncharacteristic for this season. They would fit right in with some of the previous top classes in previous seasons."

"Anyways, Gracie is difficult to counter once she gets going, but she needs momentum on her side in a fight. She is easily worth their entire team in force and disruption if she can get things going. They prevented that by assaulting her right off the bat," He stood up, brushing off his slacks as he tied off the trash bag and tossed it over towards the door.

Sitting on the floor, he began sorting the laundry into their appropriate piles. It was enough that he'd likely take it to the washer this evening once everyone went to bed. They'd appreciate the freshly folded clothes in their drawer next morning.

"And so pulling her back is your solution?"

"Just because she is intimidating, she naturally draws attention. Eliminating her as a factor changes the dynamic of what you're working with. Instead of placing her in front of Olivia, consider Olivia's own weapons." He turned his head to look up at Sam as she made a humming sound in order to get his attention.

Seeing as he was doing laundry, he assumed she was offering him something for the pile. While this was true, he hadn't expected this. She was standing there, her own uniform bunched up in her hand. She was wrapped in her towel as she was clearly preparing to head to the shower. Even he couldn't help staring for a moment as he slowly reached up to take what she offered him.

There was no sly smirk or coyness in her actions. It was very businesslike, as if she hadn't even thought about it. She needed a shower; he was setting up their laundry, her clothes needed to be washed. It was written on her face that it was the exact train of thought.

However, as his reply hung in the air and his eyes swiftly locked onto hers, they both blushed slightly. He nodded in thanks as he took her clothes and added them to the pile. She looked away and swiftly walked into the bathroom. She didn't shut the door however, they _were_ having a conversation. "So… Olivia's weapons…" she called back hesitantly.

"Right," he replied, shaking his head a little to get the too pale image out of his head. She was more of a cream shade anyway, if you compared her to the towel, "If Gracie were to instead attack her, she could use the explosions from her weapon to intercept those blows and disorient opponents. She can also exert her own zone of control on the field. This buys Gracie time to get going in any scenario. Not to mention it allows Olivia to be more offensively oriented."

"She can still hide behind her shields, but now so can Gracie." He coughed a little as he strained Sam's clothes into the piles. He knew that the top and skirt weren't alone, but he deigned to sort those at the washer and not now. He tossed them in with the other uniforms and crawled to his bed to get his luggage back. He'd use that for carting the clothes down later.

"I can see how that makes sense. What if, in theory, we were to be fighting too? How would you merge our tactics into it?" He could hear the water running, and Sam was practically yelling to him now. He stifled a little snicker.

Her voice felt much smaller now, something about her talking tone was low and intimidating, but now her voice had a definite feminine crack to it. He imagined she'd turn red from head to toe if he brought it up. The image made him pause, but from her perspective he was either dodging the question or being thoughtful. She presented it a second time, "What about us, Felix?"

"Uh, well… your tactics fit in neatly with anyone. You can provide covering fire no matter who is fighting. Although, based on our previous discussions…" he paused a moment, considering a perfect battlefield, "Well, Gracie is too straightforward. They're going to be able to quickly maneuver her to interfere with your shots. She isn't the kind to conform to that kind of a tactic, and her weapons forces her to commit to heavily to a position. Olivia…"

"She's not aggressive enough," The shower had been shut off and Sam leaned her head carefully around the door frame to weigh in. Something about it was comical, but it also made her seem particularly small. Behind the door was a tiny naked girl, and as he organized the clothes from his knee, he almost laughed when he looked up and realized that from that angle they were very nearly eye to eye in height.

"Right, she is prone to move around enough that you can shoot freely. However, if they step away from her she is equally apt to let them go." He smiled, unable to contain himself completely as he continued picturing having a conversation with her standing right in front of him right now. On his knees he would hardly have to tilt his head to look directly at her. She was so short!

"Can you toss me something from my drawer? I… didn't bring a change." She averted her eyes as she appeared to fidget with something out of sight. It occurred to him that she was probably drying herself while leaned out the door and he failed completely in containing his laughter as he nodded. He chuckled warmly as he went to the drawer and picked out her sleep clothes, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, just remembering something different."

"Fine," she frowned, "So what about you?"

"You already know what I'm going to say." He sighed now, her insistence chasing the joy from the image. She was still a bossy little lizard.

"If I did, I wouldn't ask. Tell me." She reached out and pulled the clothes from his hand, her head dipping back out of sight as she changed.

"I disorient opponents by weaving around them, and my weapons naturally prevent escape. I'm also an appealing target that can probably be taken down fairly easily from most perspectives." He crossed his arms, leaning against the wall as he waited for her to emerge from the bathroom, "It means that I buy time for your shots, and once it has begun they can't really stray from battle. Even if they do, I twist and turn them so much that they have a hard time remembering where attacks might have come from," She stepped out, preparing to walk past him.

"If they try to escape me I can just reach out-" he leaned forward and snatched her shoulder and gave it a stern tug. She had expected it, and she gave an exaggerated spin when he 'pulled' at her. Since there was no real force, she didn't wind up in his arms. Instead, she spun two quick circles on her toes to mimic being unwrapped from something. She came to a stop in her pirouette so she was looking at him. She leaned back on her heel and put her hands on her hips as she smiled at him, "-and drag them back in."

"And I can't get in your way." She grinned, reaching her hand forward to poke his chest, "So there aren't any complications."

"Is that what you're getting at?" He crossed his arms again.

"I'm just asking that you try. It won't hurt."

"I will consider it," he frowned, averting his gaze and gathering his laundry basket, "I'm going to go get this stuff clean." He gave her a single nod, but didn't look in her direction.

"That's all I'm asking of you." She smiled as he fumbled with the door, "And you're welcome to come play with Apophos again if you'd like. More hands makes less work."

"I'll consider it," he replied blandly from the door again before he departed.

Sam smiled to herself as she crawled into her bed and snuggled into her corner again. She might make them a team after all.

* * *

**Another few days, another post.**

**Honestly, I could crank these out like every other day just about. I try not to.**


	6. Chapter 6: Torn

**Alright, finally got this one grilled in and set. It took me awhile, because I got distracted between  
writing two different chapters. I've decided that I want to diverge the teams and write something  
for each one separately. They have drastically different stories and struggles, and since this is my  
first undertaking of this size and scope, I felt it would be better to just give each set their own tale.**

**Plus, I accidentally wrote a chapter to post... which will end up being NEXT chapter... and I realized  
I needed groundwork before that one came up to ease us into it and really set the story hooks in.**

**I'm pretty proud of where we're going with these, so hang in there. It is getting good now~**

* * *

Gracie sighed as she watched her 'partner' take off ahead of her as soon as the bell rang to adjourn class. Every single day had been much of the same. It was really starting to grate on her nerves. Wake up, chase his heels, first class, chase his heels, second class, chase his heels, and eat alone for lunch. Repeat for the rest of the day, and then lose track of him until bed time. At least she usually knew how to track him down after class on most days, not that he was welcome to have the company.

Straight to the training rooms to sling his whip-blade around until he'd coated his uniform in sweat, then to shower and bed.

Unfortunately, he'd been much less energetic lately. Which was saying something, considering he constantly slunk around the halls and classrooms without any expression to speak of. Well, aside from exasperation and annoyance whenever she petitioned him for combat. It was disconcerting, and honestly disheartening. She felt for him, at least in the same way a warrior might for a brother.

He seemed so strong, so fit, so skilled. Yet, he had no competition. At least, that's how she felt about it. It was exactly the same for her! So that he would deny her request was honestly staggering. She figured it had been a mood thing. If she kept asking, perhaps he'd crack at some point, or be feeling good enough to finally pursue her long awaited match.

"Felix!" She grabbed his shoulder, clicking her teeth excitedly.

"No."

"I haven't even said anything yet!" Sigh complained, dropping in beside him. She did enjoy walking with him. It was like titans among mortals when they walked the halls. The other students would step from their path, yielding to their might without petty struggles or combat. Not that she would have minded, even an easy fight is a fight. And every fight was a learning opportunity.

"Fine, but if you ask me to fight, the answer is no." He cast his eyes downwards, his hands thrust into his pockets as he walked.

"I just want to eat lunch together today. I'm not letting you get away this time. Sam and Livy eat together every day! We're partners, right?" She clapped him on the back, laughing heartily. After it abated, he spoke.

"Honestly, that remains to be seen." He shrugged, "Besides. I don't eat lunch, so why good would it do for me to eat _with_ you."

"I onno. Bonding?" She shrugged.

"I don't want to _bond_." He sighed, turning his head away.

She would not be deterred. A few side conversation with Olivia had convinced her that _this_ was their true battle. She wanted a show of arms, to find her equal or prove superior with her weapon in her hand and her opponent across from her. Felix didn't want that, or need that. Where he stood was irrelevant. Felix could have been the worst combatant in the school and he'd still be this way. His battle was here, at the rocky outcroppings of his emotional shell.

Or something like that, Olivia was much better with these things.

Far be it from her to step down from a challenge however, so she dug in her heels and kept at it. She'd been digging at his defenses all week. She hadn't found a weakness yet, but she had been pretty determined. She'd even managed to avoid yelling at him since Monday. Honestly, she deserved a treat for that.

"Well I didn't want to be stuck with a hard ass who doesn't like fighting or talking as a partner. We all make sacrifices."

Felix clicked his tongue in reply. Her keen ears heard his teeth grinding together in his mouth.

"Look, just hang out for a bit and then we'll go do something _you _want to do. That's what Livy said is best for people trying to become friends."

"Is it? Tit for Tat? You rub my back, I rub yours?" He snickered a little, but it was derisive. Gracie ground her teeth in return. His evasive tactics seemed different for all of them. As a warrior, it was important to see these things after all. He had quickly, and effectively, determined the fastest route to ending a conversation with them. To run from battle.

For Olivia, he need only remain silent. He could not stop her from talking to the wall, but she quickly ran out of small talk when presented nothing to work off. Sam earned sharp, snappy, swift replies of blunt shortness. Ironic, considering her stature. Her panicky nature made it easy to encourage _her_ to flee from _him._ In her case? He bit back, he was aggressive, dismissive, and outright mocking, anything to anger her.

"Yes," she replied, in a forced friendly tone. She couldn't hide that he was getting to her. Yet even in all his stubborn pride, if he couldn't come up with a viable solution to back out of something he would begrudgingly consent. It was one of the few things she respected about him. He fought it as a war, but he was willing to concede a battle if it was outside of his ability to attain victory.

"Fine, I will sit with you. I understand you often eat Olivia's share of food? I'll ensure to copy your order so you have plenty to eat." He shorted a step, allowing her the slightest of leads. Conceding victory, allowing her dominance.

Somehow, it was the most insulting action he'd taken in all the time she'd known him.

She craned her head to glare at him, and he grinned knowingly at her. It was, as ever, a telling expression. He never wasted his emotions, any display was calculated and careful. _By all means, take charge, I insist._ His actions said. His expression implored. She was not in charge, he was magnanimously submitting to her. The implied dominance, when no display had ever been cemented, drove her up the wall.

But she withheld, taking the lead and marching resolutely to the dining hall.

* * *

"Well hello Felix, Gracie." Olivia chimed brightly as they sat down with their other two teammates.

"You look nice today Livy," Gracie smiled toothily.

"Olivia, Sam." Felix responded blandly, half sliding his full tray to Gracie as he sat down and immediately looked elsewhere.

"Oh, you can call me Livy too. I'm quite fond of it actually."

"Come off it Livy, he's never going to do it." Sam sighed, laying her head closer to the table as she peered around the room. She was at her tensest in open areas with lots of people in it, and having Felix present only served to make her grumpy as well.

Gracie wondered for a moment if Sam was more like a cat, stalking prey for a surprise attack. She hated to think of the alternative, that she was busy inspecting everyone as threats. That just wouldn't be fitting of her teammate at all. She might be a cat, and feel uneasy among the pack of hounds that was her team, but she was no timid beast. She was too crafty. Her plans were too invasive and aggressive.

No frightened little girl disarmed and dismantled an offensive only to turn it on its head and create victory.

"I simply use the proper name, it is meant to be respectful." Felix spoke, his monotone disrupting Gracie's thoughts.

"You call Sam by _her_ nickname!" Olivia complained, crossing her arms and puffing out her cheeks in protest. It was really quite adorable. If they were _truly_ a pack, then Olivia was their puppy.

"It is because he doesn't _know_ my name. I've only ever introduced myself as Sam." Her head continued to tilt around, assisting her eyes in taking in every possible student in the room.

"Because she hasn't _told_ me her name," He corrected, leaning his face against his hand. He reached up and picked a few grapes off his tray, popping one into his mouth.

"Well, you could always ask you know!" Olivia was incorrigible when she dug into a topic, and she likely relished the fact that he was participating in the conversation. It was definitely something related to progress. He must have been in a good mood, or he was playing another game. Always hard to tell.

"She probably wouldn't tell me, right Sam?" He smiled a little, popping another grape into his mouth.

"I wouldn't." She answered quietly, her eyes focused intently on something. Gracie hadn't ever been good at following eyes, so she didn't bother checking. Besides, she was with the scariest students in the room. And Olivia. She was untouchable here.

"Saaaaaaaaaaaam!" Olivia whined, playfully banging on the smaller girl's shoulder with her fists. The tiny lizard faunas couldn't hide the tiny smirk on her face at her partner's antics, even with her face buried in her arms.

"So this is supposed to be bonding, then?" Felix turned his attention, his expression drained from the social interaction. Or perhaps it was all a farce and he just wanted her to think he was drained. Again, he was impossible to decipher. Too many mind games, too many tricks.

"That's what Livy said. If it were up to me, we'd go workout together for a few hours. Compare our weights and talk about our best fights. _Have_ our best fights." She grinned around a mouthful of food. She clicked her teeth in anticipation.

"Neither seem to appeal to me terribly much. They all rely on having other people around." He sighed, standing up, "I think I'm done. I wanted to study a little before class anyway."

"Hey wait! You can't go yet! I'm not done!" Gracie snapped.

"Indeed, you haven't even started on your second tray yet. Have fun eating." He stepped around his chair as he went to leave and Gracie finally boiled over.

"Get back here right now!"

"Gracie… you're making a scene…" Olivia whispered as she huddled in beside Sam.

Indeed, the entire room had stopped to see what could motivate her to yell so loudly in the dining hall.

Felix turned, sighing discontentedly as he did. Every action denoted that, although she couldn't see them, he was rolling his eyes. He wheeled on her and let his head loll to the side as he did. Complete disinterest. "I'm going to leave. I'm going to go study. You can either sit there quietly, or you can come over here and stop me."

Gracie stepped around her chair too, leaving only a few inches between them. She prided herself on being tall. She was the tallest in her family, one of the tallest girls in the academy, and she was equally as tall as Felix. He would be forced to straighten his neck to look her in the eyes now. She crossed the little distance between them, glaring at him. She clicked her teeth twice, with enough force that _anyone _else would have flinched.

In fact, Sam and Olivia did.

She fumed, she had taken one insult too many and she would have satisfaction. She mulled a thousand words over in her head, trying to draw up anything to provoke him. To draw him into a contest so she could keep her honor. She had nothing. Instead, he spoke up first.

"Don't make me say it." He grinned, his own face now leaning into hers. They were filled with warning, and her own instincts betrayed her. She clicked her teeth again and spoke without thinking of the implications.

"Say WHAT."

"_Sit_." His voice was plain and stern, and the authority it conveyed was palpable. He was commanding her. To sit down. As ordered.

Like a dog.

She reached up and snatched his vest as Olivia struggled to get over the chair and restrain her. To breathe sense into her before she acted. Before she fell into his trap. It didn't matter, she wasn't fast enough, and Gracie practically threw him across the room onto his butt. He landed hard, sprawling out and sliding a few inches before his reflexes kicked in and he righted himself. His legs were spread wide, his head angled up to catch her next move, one arm braced on the ground and one fanned out to the side in a ready stance.

She never charged him, though she considered it. Olivia had snatched her arm before she could. She wasn't even looking at her attacker anymore, immediately lost in the horrified and saddened eyes peering up at her from her shoulder. She placed a hand on Olivia's shoulder and shamefully sat back down. Livy was right. He had done it on purpose; he had wanted to break her composure. He had won.

* * *

Felix finally stood all the way up and he brushed the seat of his pants free of dust. He straightened out and sighed dejectedly as he turned and left. Sam watched him with disappointment, but quickly turned back to the rest of her team. To Gracie.

The massive faunas woman stared into her tray like a whipped dog. She had lost the battle, though not the one Felix believed she had lost. She was less upset that he would insult her so openly, and more upset that Olivia was so shattered by the situation. Although it was insulting in some regard, Gracie was very much like the beast which flowed in her blood. She was heart-meltingly loyal, and she was especially fond of Olivia.

She had to stifle a tiny giggle as she imagined a slightly different chain of events. If Olivia had instructed her to sit, would she have done so in a chair just directly on the floor? With Olivia, it wasn't even a matter of _if_ she would have obeyed, more a matter of _how_ she would have. In fact, she had reasoned that Gracie saw Felix as some sort of threat to the lovable ball of sunshine. In turn, she wanted to judge him in the only way she knew how, to determine if he were simply scary looking or legitimately threatening.

Sam's money was on the former, but at times she wondered.

She was roused from her thoughts to the sound of a thrice clicked tongue, "Team troubles I see." She turned, and the blue-haired leader of JSPR smiled to her from where he stood. His tray was clasped in one hand; his other hand was placed firmly on his hip. She kept one eye on either one the entire time he stood there.

"Bad news," she replied, leaning into the table gently to place a tiny bit of extra distance between them. She hadn't remembered seeing him in the dining hall in her previous sweeps.

"Must have been tragic indeed," he mused to himself. His narrow eyes looked her up and down, and his lips swiftly pressed together in disappointment, "Perhaps you should try harder."

Then he was gone, and only as he left did Sam realize she'd been holding her breath.

Shaking it off, she slipped around their table to join Olivia in comforting Gracie. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Felix did he best to enjoy the scenery in the plaza, but it was soured by the chaos still roiling freshly in his head.

Guilt was something he was used to dealing it, it came with the territory. It just wasn't usually this heavy on his heart. She might have gotten the better of him in the moment, but he'd broken her heart. It was evident in how swiftly Olivia's touch jarred her from the violence. She hadn't wanted that conflict. He forced it on her.

He clicked his tongue at himself, leaning his arm over the same bench he'd sat at on his first day here. Things were calmer now, but it did little more than exaggerate how burnt out he was from this act. They refused to give up on him and it was starting to tear his heart out to constantly rebuke them at every turn. He had chosen a difficult path, and if things kept up at this rate, getting kicked out might not be such a terrible fate.

Then again, he was too used to standing up in the face of adversity to not offer it one last go.

Sighing, he was figured he was going to get up and go take a shower, maybe a nap. He figured skipping classes for the day was probably a good idea. If he sat next to Gracie before he formulated anything to say, she'd probably murder him over his silence. Besides, the second half of his day was a handful of electives. He often sat on the back wall for most of them and Ms. Nora and Ms. Ruby would probably just give him a stern talking to tomorrow when he showed up. Neither one of them was dancing either, so he wasn't really missing anything he cared about.

However, as he prepared to get up, he spied a tiny figure with ragged looking black hair sitting by the pond. She was curled up into a tiny ball, sitting as close as she possibly could without getting into the pond. Her hand was barely extended, tracing little circles in the water and disturbing the clear stillness that likely would have settled in on this breezeless day.

She seemed familiar, but he couldn't recall where he'd seen her. Tucking his hands in his pockets, he stood up and glanced around. No one else was around, and the class bell was about to ring. She should have been scurrying off to her next hour but she looked like moss might grow on her head instead. Squaring himself up, he walked up to the pond, keeping a solid distance between them. She never even looked up. She was lost in whatever world she was in. He couldn't make out her face as her hair, roughly hacked off and horribly uneven, was just long enough to obscure it.

He sighed, he wasn't going to get anywhere by just standing here.

"Hey there," he offered his most winning greeting. Which come to think of it, was probably any greeting, apparently he was well liked for his looks. This, however, was not the reaction he received. The girl twisted her head up and he recognized her immediately. Reina, from Team JSPR. Her eyeliner had dried on her face in long trickled lines that reached her chin. Not to mention, just the sight of him seemed to horrify her.

She snapped to her feet in an instant and immediately took to wiping her face with her forearm, "Uh, hold on a second please." Her voice was shaky, but composed. It was a forced effort. Olivia probably would have delved deeper, but Felix opted to just stand there expectantly as she furiously cleaned her face with her sleeves. After a moment, she pulled her hand up and batted her hair from her eyes as she gave him the single most forced smile he'd seen in his life. And he knew a forced smile, they were practically his trademark.

"Oh, you're that man from Team SGOF, right?"

"FLAN now, actually." He glanced away, hearing the bell for class ring out.

"Oh, that's…" she seemed lost in thought for a moment as she glanced over. He stole another glance and noted it wasn't just the eyeliner, her eyes were red and puffy as well. Crying.

"The bell for second half. Yeah." He shrugged, turning back to the pond.

"Shouldn't you… we… be going to class?" She made a half-motion to leave, but then turned back to him for a reaction.

"Guess I should be going."

She nodded, "Have a good day."

"Yeah, thoughts to gather. See ya," He turned away from her.

He frowned. Olivia was far better at these kinds of things. Glancing out over the horizon, he walked off.

He headed towards the dorm. He'd have a few hours alone if he headed there now.

Gracie really just wanted to train with him. She phrased it as fighting, but she had even gone a few rounds with Olivia, even when it was vehemently clear that Olivia was never going to amount to a challenge. At least, so long as Olivia kept her current attitude. She was a nice girl, Olivia, but a less than adequate fighter. She made up for it in a number of ways though. As a constant source of energy and morale, she was quick with a smile and completely honest. He wondered if she would be worthwhile in a distraction gambit.

This left Sam, the closest thing to an enigma besides himself.

He couldn't tell one way or the other her opinion on him, and in a way she was better at keeping secrets than he was. She was a planner, a schemer. It was her job, in combat at least, as their leader. Aside from that, however, she did a pretty solid job on the home front as well. If you discounted him, she'd successfully wrangled Olivia's boundless energy and Gracie's fighting spirit and not only made them useful weapons… but fast friends.

Sam had cobbled it together and hardly batted her pretty eyes at it. She pretty much walked in, had a few quick conversations, and they were friends by dinner.

* * *

"Gracie, it's okay." Olivia consoled the faunas.

"I shouldn't have let it get to me. I had him cornered." She spat the last words, but she didn't believe them.

"Gracie you should focus on how well you had done so far." Olivia gripped her arm as they wandered through the hall towards class. She squeezed her fingers down comfortingly, "You went a whole week without getting angry at him. That's really respectable."

"I can hardly go ten minutes." Sam added encouragingly.

"Yeah, but you wouldn't have gotten mad at all Livy." Gracie moped.

"Gracie, don't compare yourself to others. We handle things differently. You're big and strong, that you chose to withhold your temper for so long is respectable." She nodded her head definitively.

"Well, I'm still going to have to deal with him again tomorrow." Gracie grumbled, looking away.

"How about you just spend time with me instead, you wouldn't mind, would you Sam?" Olivia smiled winningly; it was her own secret weapon.

"I've been thinking that was a good plan for a while now actually."

"Then it is settled, you're going with me. We'll switch a few seats around and everything will be fine."

"Is it really that easy?" Gracie glanced between them.

"Of course it is. The boss just said so, right?" She tugged on Gracie's arm, giving her the biggest smile in her arsenal when she glanced down. Even Gracie couldn't fight back, returning it almost instantly.

"I guess so," She looked ahead again, smiling to herself.

"So does that mean I can come and watch you train after classes now? You told me before it was _so_ awkward." She poked the arm she held sarcastically.

"I mean, it would be kind of weird now if you didn't, since you want to work with me."

"Exactly, and maybe you can show me a few tricks too so I can be as scary as you are when we're fighting!" She jumped in front of them, shadow boxing a little. Gracie stifled a laugh. There, much better.

"Of course Livy, I'll make you the toughest little sunflower there ever was."

"Aww, I'm a sunflower? " She puffed her cheeks out in protest, "I wanted to be a giraffe or a lion or something. You know, like you!" She walked backwards now, poking Gracie in the stomach to illustrate her point.

"I am _not_ a giraffe."

"You _might_ be a lion though." Sam added in.

"Oh hush, both of you. We'll talk more about it later Livy. Let's just try and focus on class."

"I _guess_." She giggled, opening the door to the classroom.

* * *

"Livy, are you even trying? You're hardly sweating at all!" Gracie chortled as her blonde companion wiped her brow and looked up from where she was sitting, on the floor.

"That wasn't fair at all! You just swept my legs out from under me, what did you want me to do!"

"I donno, jump?" Gracie slung the chain over her shoulder and hoisted the metal ball off the ground as she let another strong laugh out.

Olivia had, indeed, decided to accompany her to training after classes just as she'd promised. So far it hadn't been the most productive session, but there was a lot to cover that Olivia just didn't understand. Or had never really grasped. Still, after having discussed her semblance, it made sense. She could easily ride someone else to victory, which made her choice of weapons very appropriate. Her job was to defend herself, or at least it had been up until now.

Now she wanted to work with Gracie, and she was gonna make this ball of sunshine a _wrecking ball_ of sunshine.

"Well you _have_ to have more for me than that!" Olivia moped, readjusting her shields on her arms. Gracie walked up and extended her hand to help her up, and Olivia took it tiredly. Hoisting her forcefully to her feet, Livy squeaked as she actually gained some air before landing on her feet.

"You are _really_ strong." She marveled, releasing Gracie's hand.

"Well, I've gotta be. Gotta make the family proud of me and make sure none of my little brothers or sisters try to steal my position as top dog!" She chuckled proudly; her siblings really were fiery little bastards.

"Yeah, I don't really think I'll be able to get as strong as you."

"Nonsense, it isn't about strength. Look at Felix," Gracie grinned, "I could fold that little pipsqueak in half. He's all bones and bluster!"

"Then why do you want to fight him?" Olivia mused. It was a pretty obvious ploy, and how flagrantly she advertised that the question was more than it appeared was something Gracie didn't mind. Even when she was being subtle, she made sure you knew. It was a sort of honesty that probably had flaws, somehow.

"Fighting isn't just brawn, if it were there wouldn't be a contest between us. I'd take it easily. Just like Sam and her tactics, or Felix and his skill, there's more to a fight then just strength and presence. Those two are just the easiest to notice or quantify." Gracie rubbed her chin, "Alright, let's try this. What do you see when you look at me fighting?"

Olivia blushed, "Well, you're strong and you're fast and you command attention."

"You're gonna have to dig deeper, I know you can."

"You have elegance to your steps and you move with purpose. You have a distinct conviction and you never give up, even when your attacks don't connect," Olivia put a finger to her lip as she went on, "You're boisterous and loud and you draw attention to yourself an you do your best to track down the strongest opponent on the field and take the battle to them."

Gracie coughed, pounding her chest as she looked away, "That was… not quite what I meant. But… what I'm getting at is that I evaluate my opponents. Do you ever see me sweeping the area during my attacks? I keep myself free of tunnel vision. I don't want something creeping up on me when I'm vulnerable." She slapped the massive iron ball, "My attacks frequently leave large openings in my stance, so I have to be ready to counter attack. My weapon is simple, and I never bothered building one when I attended Sanctum."

"Well, it uses your strength really well, right?"

"Actually, it doesn't!" Gracie laughed, "That's actually the whole trick to it."

"It doesn't?"

"Not much. I mean, I modified the weighted end. The ball on a Kusarigama is actually usually pretty small." She held up her hand, making a circle, "About that big. I made it a bit bigger so I could have some more punch for fighting something like a Grimm or bashing in an Aura… but it functions much the same."

"So how does it not use your strength?" Olivia leaned on one hip, the suddenness giving her a certain, _bounciness_. Gracie coughed a little before continuing.

"You could use my weapon nearly as easily as I do. It is mostly momentum and awareness. Sure, there is a good deal of practice to get it all right… but the weapon's speed carries more force than I could ever hope to impart myself. I help a little, but not as much as you'd think."

"Well, why not switch to something else?"

"Your first thought was that it leveraged my strength. So it creates an image that others are intimidated by. But the real trick, is it offers control over the field. I can reach farther with this than with my arms or a spear. And, cutting in to fight me allows me to impede my attacker. They either have to jump above it, meaning they can't dodge anything once they're there." She paused, considering semblances, "Well, most of the time, semblances notwithstanding."

"Right, like Sam's."

"Right! Or, they have to come in low," She quickly continued, smiling, "and I don't need a weapon to batter someone who is physically beneath me." She clenched a fist to punctuate her point.

"You know, you're pretty smart."

"Eh, only when it comes to fighting. I'm terrible at actual schooling."

"Well, now I know how I'll pay you back for all of this training! We'll get some studying in this weekend, it'll be great! I'm actually really great at bookwork."

"Don't you struggle to take notes?"

"Only because I write a little slowly, and I like to add notable anecdotes that relate to the topic at hand… so I often get sidetracked adding extra information." She grinned, winking, "Even if it isn't testable, I like to know all the connecting parts."

"That's pretty clever. Alright, deal. I could use all the help I can get in history and grimm studies."

"Lady Weiss and Mr. Ren are pretty thorough. It is a little tough to determine what they consider important to test on, I get that. Don't worry, when I'm done, you'll feel like the most dangerous encyclopedia that ever existed!"

"Well… let's not overdo it." Gracie snickered.

* * *

Today had been so terribly long, her trip to the armory was exactly what she'd needed to degauss and relax. Sam stretched her arms nice and wide as she finally emerged into the halls and glorious solitude. The school was best at these times, when no one else was around.

Just her and her thoughts, of which she had a great many to review.

In the end, it was probably a good idea putting Gracie and Olivia together. It was a good dynamic. It worked well for their semblances and their personalities. Olivia gained a lot more from it than Gracie did, but Gracie's ego needed to be fed in order to keep her in prime condition, and Olivia loved lavishing people in compliments. So, perhaps it was much more even than she'd thought. As much as she liked how easy going Olivia had been as a companion, looking back it definitely made more sense to have them together.

Not to mention Felix required a more delicate touch.

She sighed, rubbing her forehead as she pondered the dining hall earlier that day. He was an unmanageable thing who seemed hell bent on shoving away everything. A part of her was surprised he hadn't tried to push his own skin away for being too close. Honestly, at times he seemed exactly that prickly even if it was a ridiculous notion.

"Troubled?"

Sam practically jumped out of _her_ skin as Jay seemed to materialize beside her, fading in from a nearby intersecting hallway. She took a few defensive steps to put space between them as she gathered herself.

"A little," she replied, frowning slightly. This was twice in one day that'd he'd managed to sneak up at her. She cursed herself for not being more attentive. If this kept up, she was going to start thinking he beat her because of something _other_ than Felix's decision to not participate.

"Well, perhaps you'd like to tell me about it. I'm certain I can help _you_." There it was, that attitude he seemed to stick her with. It was like a needle, one he saved solely for her.

"No thank you."

"Well, then perhaps you'll allow me to walk with you since we seem to be going the same way?" He smiled, but it was disconcerting. She didn't like his face very much. It wasn't that he wasn't sort of attractive. In a weird way he probably was. To her, however, she could only see how thin his features were. His eyes were thin and his pupils were beady. His lips were as well. Not to mention he had way of looking at you that made you feel as if he were sizing you up.

Like you were prey.

She shivered at the thought, unconsciously shifting a little further away from him as she did. He either didn't notice, or didn't care, as he continued walking down the middle of the hallway. He was silent, but he kept his gaze on her as they walked. She, as politely as possible, averted her own. For several very long minutes this went on before she reached a point she knew they'd split.

"Have a good day," she murmured as she turned down the hall that lead to her dorm room. She knew team JSPR stayed in another hall entirely, so she could feasibly evade him. She glanced over her shoulder as she turned away, and saw him standing there patiently in the crossway. He watched her go, offering a tiny wave.

"Later." His thin features only grew more frightening as she grew further away, and the speed at which his actual eyes were eclipsed by his eye lids only served to sharpen that predatory feeling he emanated. She picked up her pace as she turned her head forward again, breathing quickly and quietly as she focused on getting back to her room.

To safety.

She almost ran directly into Gracie as she reached the door.

"Woah now, little lizard," Gracie snickered, "What's got you in such a rush?"

"Were you having a discussion with Jay?" Olivia added in, leaning around her new partner.

She hadn't even noticed they'd been in the hallway, so eager to escape her previous company. It also dawned on her that Olivia wouldn't be her bulwark anymore. She was with Gracie, who was _her_ bulwark. What an ironic turn of events.

Her only reassurance was that it was the weekend, so she wouldn't have to leave her room if she didn't want to.

* * *

Felix had wandered for a few more hours, staying out of the more common areas until class had started. He figured a few of the instructors might have noted his presence, but no one had seen fit to speak to him about his actions. Or perhaps they could tell he was lost in thought.

He'd wandered the halls until just before the last class let out, and then dismissed himself to his dorm. It was probably best if he just got some sleep. That, and it would be better if he were in no position to speak when his _teammates_ arrived. They'd likely try to drag him into a conversation.

He sighed heavily, throwing his clothes into his makeshift hamper.

They just wanted him to let them in. To be his friend and help him do well here. They weren't leaning on him, after all they were doing just fine without him. Gracie has somehow developed some kind of respect for his abilities. Olivia was… well she was just friendly. Sam had a job to do, and he was actively fighting her at every turn. He just didn't let them in.

Just like the crying girl at the pond.

He bit his lip as he wrapped himself in his covers. That had been a poor decision. If he wasn't going to say anything, he should have just left her alone. It wasn't even his business, and it probably wasn't anything important anyway. A broken heart or a crush gone wrong or something. Still, it stuck to him, he couldn't push it out of his mind. It hung there, a huntress in training curled up like a pathetic little girl drawing circles in the water all alone.

She had a team, and they seemed to get along just fine. Why didn't she go talk to them? If they were anything like hi-

Of course, stupid. Just like his team. If they knew, they'd want to know what was wrong and help make it better. They wanted him at 100%, just like her team would likely work to make her feel better as soon as they found out. The difference being her team was going to find out. She would get better when they reassured her and helped her out.

He was alone. And it was all his fault. He bit his lip hard as he forced himself to sleep. All his fault.

* * *

**Phew, at last, I've gotten enough things in place to really kick the story into gear and start grinding  
things to a finer point.**

**Let me know if you liked it. As always, Enjoy~**

**Get at me.**


	7. Chapter 7: A Single Stitch

**This is a spicy chapter. I loved it a lot and it has been my favorite one to write so far. Keep your eyes  
peeled.**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

Felix did the only thing he could think to do, and continued forward. It had been working for him so far. He had never been one for complicated plans and daring heroism anyway. He needed to find her, if only to know she was alright. Maybe convince her that they should turn heel and put some distance between themselves and all of this chaos.

He was chasing the only sign of life in the woods. His sister's familiar battle cry could be heard somewhere up ahead, and as long as he kept could keep the countless toothy maws from descending upon him... He wanted anything but that. He wouldn't die here, not while his sister was still alive. Not while he still had her. He wouldn't let her down.

He felt a root catch his foot and he fell to the ground, he bit his tongue, and he felt the blood fill his mouth. It wouldn't seem to stop, and his exhaustion forced him to take more desperate breaths, even before he could spit the blood from his mouth. It choked in his lungs, but he clawed at the dirt as he fought to keep going. Then he felt the teeth, they dug into his heels and his legs and his body. He screamed out in pain, in agony, in desperation.

Just a few more inches to the clearing, to his sister.

He could make it, he could get there faster this time. The clearing was only one more pull away. He just need to grab the dirt before they got him. Before they got her. He reached out, and his arm flew from his body. He blinked, watching it turn in the air as the teeth rained down upon him.

The delicate bracelet on its wrist glittered in the breaking sunlight of the new morning and he realized it wasn't his arm at all.

He screamed as the teeth fell upon him. The smoldering orange glow of millions of eyes blinded him as he was torn apart.

* * *

He sat up in his bed.

He was coated in sweat and the sun was peeking out of the clouds and casting light into the room around him. His teammates were in various states of disarray, and it took him a moment to realize his throat was hoarse.

He'd screamed them all awake.

He glanced around, trying to take in his companions. Gracie looked like she was about to start swinging, she may have been surprised, but fight was clearly her first response to most issues. Olivia looked just as startled as he was, glancing around as she tried to grasp the situation. Sam physically couldn't have gotten smaller as she ducked her head into her covers and hid from the offending sound. Like not looking would somehow protect her.

"Are you… okay?" Olivia rubbed her eyes, checking her scroll for the time, "You aren't late for anything. It is Sunday."

"Right, Sunday." Felix pulled himself from his bed and fished clothes from the drawer. For once in his life, he was glad that his sleep gear was also his gym gear. It gave him an excuse, "I'm late for a workout."

"A work out date?" Gracie grumpily responded, "You didn't just invite me to work out?"

"It isn't a date, and I didn't make it." He responded, rubbing his side as he stepped into his trainers.

"So you don't have a date?" she clicked her teeth menacingly.

He turned to glare at Gracie. She glanced past him and huffed loudly as she dropped back into her bed. "Fine, leave."

He glanced over his shoulder to Olivia, who just offered him a kind-hearted shooing motion. He swept over to the tiny pupils peering out from the blanket cocoon she called home. He wasn't sure, but he could swear they shimmered slightly, as if they were full of water. Like tears.

Shrugging it off, he left.

The bracing autumn morning was plenty to dispel the pallor the nightmare had poured onto his demeanor. He hadn't originally planned to work out today, but if he was going to be up so early then he might as well expend some energy. That was the most likely reason for his nightmares, he'd been having them most nights lately, but this one had been especially bad. He needed to figure something out to burn off energy so he'd stop having dreams.

After all, he was still banned from his usual catharsis.

Still, it wasn't bad to just run a bit. Maybe he'd even hit the gym once he started to feel a little tired. Glancing up, he spotted a solid reason to detour however as the peppy image of Jack emerged somewhere in front of him. There was no way he was going to stomach his chipper attitude in his current state.

Well, a shower would be nice too.

Slipping into the next alcove, he turned into the school and slowed to a walk. He was on the opposite side from the dorms, but as long as he stayed inside, he probably wouldn't have to deal with anyone. He stuffed his hands into his pockets as he walked, tilting his head down as he walked.

It had been at least a year since the nightmares had last plagued him.

Life was a little more difficult at the time; a young man can't do much in the way of work. He pretty much gambled on the exams, riding off his drop out transcript. He had stellar marks and good heritage, so chances are what schooling he _did _have worked well with his name to get him consideration. Not to mention the practical he endured when they flew him into Vale. It wasn't difficult, but his heart hadn't been in it. It still wasn't.

He let himself into the room and glanced around.

He'd been out for a while, and it appeared Gracie and Olivia had left. Not to mention he didn't see the familiar cocoon in the corner. Pausing at the bathroom door, he knocked on it a few times and listened for a response. Content he was alone, he stripped down and tossed his clothes into the hamper he kept by his bed. Well, his suitcase… but it didn't really make a difference since it was serving the same function.

He set his clothes out and climbed into the shower.

* * *

Olivia knew things were terribly far from okay at home.

Felix had woken them all with one of the most bloodcurdling screams she'd heard in her entire life, and she could scream. However, the situation was just another nail in the coffin of their growing dissent. Gracie had practically crawled from her bed and tried to beat him to death, or at least heavily implied she intended to try. Sam had practically self-destructed, she'd squeaked nearly as loud and attempted to meld into her bed almost immediately.

Olivia sat, watching Gracie swing her kusarigama around the training room as felt the rage radiate all the way to the walls. She was glorious to watch, definitely more of a fighter than she was, but there was something sad about all that anger. It was one of three emotions that seemed to dominate her every breath. You had rage, typically at her opponents or Felix. Then there was her ever present competitive nature, which likely was little more than positively channeled rage. That had a chance at everyone around her, until she determined if she were stronger. Lastly, there was her insatiable appetite.

Taking a peek at her scroll, she figured it wouldn't be long before _that_ became her obstacle for the afternoon.

Sam had urged her to try and spend more time with the team fireball, and she assumed Sam was planning something. Still, Olivia wasn't about to interfere with that. The last they'd had a serious discussion it seemed like she was making progress with Felix. She wasn't sure what that meant, but if it was going to assuage some of this tension she wasn't about to complain.

That and she rather enjoyed Gracie. It was a weird dynamic that strung the two of them together. Gracie had easily determined that Olivia wasn't a threat, yet she would cow immediately under what she considered her 'motherly glare'. It took every ounce of restraint to keep from giggling every time she managed it. At first, she imagined it was just her semblance affecting her moods, but when she managed it a few times from all the way across the cafeteria… well, she realized that Gracie just seemed to take direction really well.

"Livy! Do you wanna go eat?" Her boisterous companion had come back from depositing her weapon just as planned.

Smiling, Olivia stood up, "Of course. I'm sure the cafeteria will still be serving."

"Still? How late is it?"

"The same time as always, 1230," Olivia grinned, it was devilish. Gracie almost seemed upset, but she looked away.

"I thought I said to let me know when it was noon. I wanted more time to eat."

"I know, but if I had, you'd just want to drag me back here right after. This way, you're _just_ tired enough you'll let me take you for a walk instead of just sitting here watching you work." Olivia winked, hooking an arm around one of Gracie's massive biceps.

"That's completely unfair; I like my two-a-days."

"I know, but they're boring for me. So wouldn't it be more unfair to make me sit through them all the time?"

"Yeah," Gracie held the door for her, grumbling, "I guess you're right."

"Besides, you know I'll gladly do it all week. Just like usual, so one day a week isn't so bad, is it?" Olivia smiled brightly up at her.

"Fine, but you're giving me some of your food."

"Well of course, I don't have much of an appetite anyway. I wasn't the one working so hard!"

"So, you're the smarter of us," Gracie paused, considering her next words.

"You said it!" Olivia softly pinched the arm she was grasping, giggling.

"Oh hush. I'm just curious why Sam doesn't want me around my partner. I mean, you spend time with me… she spends time with you… but Felix just… does Felix." She clicked her teeth hard, grinding them slightly after the second definitive clicking sound.

"Well, I'm not always inside her head," Olivia placed a finger to her lip as she spoke thoughtfully, "but Sam has a plan."

"That's quickly becoming a saying on our team…" Gracie grumbled.

"Probably among us, but do you think Felix thinks that?"

"Eh, probably not. I don't think he thinks at all," Gracie broke off from Olivia as she let her into the cafeteria.

"Now you're thinking like Sam."

The two of them slid through the room and got their trays and food before sitting back down. It was a pretty lackluster day, but most weekends were. Lots of students liked to go down to Vale to eat on days off. They would have done the same, had their morning hadn't been such a shock. Picking over her meal, Olivia eventually slid the rest of it over to Gracie. She hadn't eaten much but it wasn't like she was terribly hungry.

Offering a happy sigh, she turned to Gracie as she continued where they left off.

"So, in my opinion… I think Felix is a little standoffish. I mean, he _probably_ isn't a bad guy," she paused, biting her lip thoughtfully, "Considering he tried to save me during the entrance exam."

"Fat lot of good that did, considering _you_ saved _him_." Gracie quickly stacked Olivia's tray on her freshly emptied one and started cleaning it as well.

"It was the thought that counted in that case," Olivia gently slapped at her arm, glaring. "Don't discredit it. Had he not hit me, I'd have never reacted at all, and I wouldn't be here."

"I guess I'll let him have that then," Gracie shrugged.

"The point is… Well, I think he's a tougher nut to crack then the rest of us. I mean, so long as you get to fight you're happy, right?"

"Obviously. Well, I gotta eat too."

"Of course," Olivia snickered, "We can't _possibly_ forget your tummy."

"Yeah, you better not. I worked hard on this sucker!" Gracie leaned back, banging a fist on her abs. It was… frighteningly sturdy sounding, "And you just like having friends around."

"That's a bit of a cheap way to say it, but yes. I'm happy cooperating with the team."

"I just don't like to complicate things."

"I guess _I'll_ let _you_ have that one." She smiled, twisting Gracie's words back on her. She earned a slightly irritated grimace, but little more than that.

"That's why Sam wants us to lay off. I think she's trying to dig her little hooks in and wear him down."

"That sounds… menacing." Gracie scrunched her nose up, chewing thoughtfully.

"I just mean that it is probably better to let her handle something so delicate. I'd probably just let him be and quietly stand in the background. You…"

"Would try to bash his skull in until it worked right?"

"Pretty much, and I just… I think that's not going to work."

Gracie sighed, leaning back from the empty trays. She glared at nothing in particular, softly gnashing her teeth. It was a truly silly looking thoughtful face. After a few moments, she finally spoke, "Honestly, who screams like that?"

"I could," Olivia crossed her arms, "I mean, if I tried."

"No, pretty sure you'd just sound adorable." Gracie chuckled, preparing to stand up.

Grinning, Olivia took a deep breath.

* * *

Sam had thought she would try to talk to Felix when he came back into the room. She would just lay in wait, and when he sat down to gather his thoughts, she'd see if he wanted to have a conversation. He had to want to distract himself after a nightmare like that. It had been rough enough that his body felt the need to rouse the rest of them.

However, he'd strolled in, stripped, and gone straight to the shower.

By the time she had realized he was back, he was out of reach again. Not to mention he'd been so distracted he hadn't even noticed her. It wasn't like she was hiding or anything. She'd simply slipped out of her blanket barrier and lain down to read notes on her scroll. She didn't need to prepare for a conversation with him.

Well, aside from calming down from the shock that morning.

Instead, she'd busied herself with going over her class notes while she waited. Now, however, she wasn't sure how to address the current situation. If she stayed here, she'd probably startle him when he returned and he'd probably run away again. If she left he would notice the door closing and realize someone had either arrived… or since the room was empty he'd missed someone. Meaning he'd know she'd been there when he'd undressed. Meaning there'd be another barrier to overcome.

Stuck with the options in her head, she decided that sometimes a _stupid_ plan might work best.

Tucking her scroll away, she rolled over onto her side and snuggled up to her pillow. She figured if she just pretended to be asleep, especially outside of her usual position, he'd just assumed he overlooked her but there was no harm. Then she'd conveniently wake up after it sounded like he was at least half-way decent. There was literally no way this plan couldn't work.

After a few minutes, she yawned softly. He'd probably be out soon.

* * *

His shower hadn't just been long, it'd been a marathon.

He sighed, stepping from the steam filled room with his towel around his neck. He was already wearing his pants, but he'd left his socks and shirt on his bed. He figured it would be nice to roam around a little without having to be fully dressed. Besides, his pants had a pleasant softness and the room was cool against his skin. He was pretty comfortable like this.

Cracking his neck, he hung his towel up on his coat hook. He didn't have a coat, since Vale didn't get nearly as cold as ho-_Atlas_. He shook the thought from his head as he walked to the window, sighing heavily to himself as he leaned against the dresser and looked outside. The afternoon sun was beating down on the day, but it had already started setting. Well, in that direction, but really the sun was always either rising or setting. Just because it was still high didn't mean it wasn't setting.

He exhaled hard, stupid thoughts.

Straightening himself out, he groaned a little as he stretched, craning his neck down as he relaxed. There was a particularly vicious half circle scar across his stomach which immediately glared back at him. Rolling his eyes, he twisted gracefully until he could _barely_ see his own back to inspect its nearly identical brother on his back.

Suddenly, however, he noticed something else as well.

Draped off the edge of the far bed was a single hand poking out from the covers. It was small, delicate, and extraordinarily pale. Frowning, he turned around and marched up to the bed. Crouching down, he lifted the blanket up ever so slightly to inspect the owner's face. Instead, he was greeted with a mop of lime green hair and slightly parted lips. He grinned slightly, gently lifting her wrist and tucking it beside her face before he let the blanket down softly atop the sleeping faunas.

He rose, cracking his back carefully as he slid across the room to finish dressing. If she was going to sleep, he might as well not stick around.

"You're pretty gentle for such a gruff person," her tiny voice was startling, but he managed to prevent himself from jumping.

"I was hoping I wouldn't wake you."

"I was awake when you peeked at me." Her voice seemed to be torn between a statement, and teasing.

"You should have said something," Felix turned, expecting to see her sitting up for their conversation. Instead, he saw her simply poking her head out from the covers. Her tiny hand was clasped closely to her lips as she looked at him, her blue-green eyes seeming to pierce the shroud of bangs hanging into her face.

"I wanted to see what you'd do." She answered cryptically. He answer her words with a heavy sigh as he turned around, his shirt half-buttoned and his tie hanging off either of his shoulders.

"That's particularly aggravating," Felix did the last few of his buttons, flipping his collar up as he reached the top, "I'd prefer if you were just up front with your intentions."

"Fine, I want to work with you." She answered, sitting up. She kept the blanket clutched firmly around her, only her face visible. He was hit by the fear in her eyes almost immediately. It made him scrunch his nose up in distaste. She was a mess to handle.

"I don't know why you'd want to do that. I've made it very clear how I intend to operate." He straightened his tie and slid into his vest as he stepped into his boots.

"You aren't really working with Gracie at all." She stated plainly.

"And I don't intend to work with Olivia or you either." He leaned down, tying his boots up before neatly setting his pants over them. He stood back up, sticking his hands into his pockets. After a few moments of silence, she averted her eyes and he assumed the conversation was over.

Just as he stepped forward to leave, she threw herself from the bed and blocked his path. Staring at the ground, her fists gripped tightly at her side, she took a deep breath and spoke, "If you agree to take me to your training sessions, I'll speak to the instructors and have your restriction lifted."

"So you knew?" He responded, turning to glance back out the window.

"I had been informed that the faculty was taking steps to assist me in managing you."

"Managing. Is that right?" He grinned to himself, putting a hand to his forehead.

"Listen," he heard a slight rustling nearby him, "I don't know what's wrong, but for better or worse… we're stuck together."

"And you want to work with me because of that?" He turned, glaring down at her. He had never seen anyone in his life look equally defiant and terrified at the same time. This was a completely different girl from the one who'd cornered him for a conversation. Or who'd aggressively seized his wrist to inspect his weapon. He didn't know who this girl was, because this wasn't any Sam he'd seen before.

"I won't get in your way."

"No one ever does."

"I _can't _get in your way." She stomped, stepping closer to look up at him. He almost scoffed; all it did was elaborate on how small she was. From the look on her face, however, it seemed like she felt stronger for it. Whatever helped, he guessed.

"Neither can Gracie if I keep her where she is."

"You are COMPLETELY missing the point!" She reached up and pushed him, forcing him back a step, "I'm trying to do you a favor and help you out!" She was actively angry now. He subdued a smile. He kind of liked this side of her.

Still, he wasn't going to just stand there and take this. Rising to his full height, towering over her, he yelled back, "So what is the point? To put hands on me? You want to start a fight to make me _feel_ better?"

She managed quite a strong front, but she had broken. Whatever this girl was, she was crying now. At least from the eyes, everything else was unadulterated rage. At least, what she could pass for rage. It wasn't that she was cute, far from it. It was simply difficult to take her seriously when she was so much smaller. "I don't know _how_ to make you feel better! I don't even know how to make you COOPERATE with us! You're tearing _us _apart for some self-righteous crusade that you're carrying around on your shoulders!" She swung at him angrily with one hand, and he snatched her hand before it could connect.

Gripping the tiny fist, he clenched his teeth and shoved her back.

Her tiny eyes went wide as she fell completely off balance and onto her butt. He hadn't intended for it to happen, but he wasn't going to hold back now. If he was going to go in for the penny…

"And when I'm gone, there will still be an _us_."

He glared down at her as she looked up to him with tears streaming down her face. Her lips still fought to maintain some semblance of dignity, pressed together so tightly that it very nearly stemmed the flow of water on her face. Rolling quickly, she stumbled to her feet and stormed from the room.

He had been needlessly harsh, caustically so. It was completely undeserved. She had done nothing to him so far except have a conversation. Invited him to do _something_ even when she knew he couldn't really do anything else. She hadn't pressured him, and she'd even throw herself on the spear to tolerate working with him.

The only thing she was guilty of was kindness.

* * *

He was insufferable, vile, callous, detestable.

She sniffed aggressively, wiping her face and nose on her sleeve as she stormed through the halls. She wanted to be anywhere but near him. She would rather fall into the forest naked then bear another moment having a discussion with that piece of shit. So he had a hard time with something, and terrible nightmares that made him scream everyone awake and scare his entire team at once.

Oh, sorry, _her _team. Since he had nothing to do with it.

Well, it wasn't like they hadn't worked just as hard to overcome whatever _they'd _had to deal with in order to get here. Only two of Gracie's siblings got to attend any kind of schooling because the size of their family. She only had this opportunity because of the serendipitous situation where she'd drawn the big straw. Olivia had abandoned a rather pampered existence because she wanted to do more with her life. Sam just wanted to make sure she could be big and strong and smart enough to protect all her siblings if something bad ever happened.

_Everyone_ has something that drives them.

Snarling to herself, still blindly following her feet, she wheeled a corner and collided directly with the second highest person on her list of 'worst possible company'. Jay.

"Well if it isn't the princess of the battlefield!" He grinned snidely as his hands collapsed onto her shoulders, pinning her in place. They weren't precisely forceful or painful, but he exerted enough pressure and presence that she couldn't summon up the strength to flee.

"Jay…" she muttered, averting her eyes. She was immediately aware that she wasn't sure which hall she was in. Her pulse quickened at the thought.

"So I've been thinking… our team hasn't ever really had an opportunity to go _all out_." He lifted one hand, the other seeming to grow heavier on her shoulder. She could feel sweat running down her back and she was painfully aware that her eyes were still red from crying.

Stupid Felix. He ruined everything he touched.

"My team hasn't been in top form." She replied, blinking a fresh tear from her eyes. She ground her teeth together as she evaluated how quickly she could slip back around the corner. She would much prefer that he be in front of her where she could see him, but escaping was top priority. He was always planning something.

"Well, everyone has to warm up to each other." He grinned, that same fox like grin which matched his insanely beady eyes. She hated it, never in her life had she felt more like prey than when he stared at her.

She had been the only person to outclass him at anything so far, and he seemed eager to ensure he was the complete top of the class in everything he could feasibly do so. Combat was out of the question, but team tactics? He could manage that.

"Probably," she answered half-heartedly, turning her gaze in the other direction. She wanted to run, but she couldn't. She knew if she'd tried, he'd grip her shirt or he'd use his long legs to keep up with her. She was already trapped. It was like he'd lain this well before hand. He knew if he could catch her all alone he could do whatever he wanted.

Horror began to creep into her heart as she realized how frighteningly true that was.

"I was curious if you'd be interested in a friendly competition."

"No."

"Aww, come on. You didn't even hear me out!" He sounded so upbeat, so pleasant. Yet, at the same time, his grin was hungry, and his fingers had seemed to grow tighter on her shoulder. It felt like he was digging into her shoulder with the tips, like he was going to tear it off.

"Fine, talk." She relented. Perhaps she could escape him faster if she let him speak. If she just let him spin his wheels a little, throw him off course.

"I'm just suggestin-"

"You let her go?" Jay's hand came up defensively and Sam took a reflexive step back as all the pressure holding her in place seemed to dissipate. She immediately backed into something stern and immovable. Her entire body threatened to break into shakes and squeaks as every ounce in her entire being feared the impending hand that would land on her shoulder.

It never came, however.

No one seized control of the situation, and she took a yelping breath as she turned and attempted to step around whatever was behind her, probably a locker she'd backed into. Instead, it was Felix. His arms were crossed over his chest as he glared directly at Jay. A quick sideways glance saw that Jay was now paralyzed in _his_ eyes. Their exchange may have been different, two predators circling each other as they prepared to battle, but it weighed them down all the same.

It was like she didn't exist.

"Felix, you're a long way from home." Jay chided, the corner of his lips curling up to display a snarky grin.

"Don't play friendly with me." Felix tilted his head up, staring down his nose at their classmate. His height made it all the more demeaning, and he looked strangely heroic doing it. She glanced around the halls before they could continue, ensuring no one else was coming. She didn't want the rest of his team to show up right now. Not without Olivia and Gracie around.

"I was just trying to ha-"

"Coerce." Felix corrected quickly and sternly. He was still angry.

"-Have a conversation about a little challenge I had in mind." Jay finished, grimacing. He hated being seen as inferior. He hated when his plans weren't perfect.

Well, he was now talking to the perfect plan ruiner himself.

"She didn't seem particularly eager to have it from what I heard."

"Oh _Felix_, don't presume to know what a leader is up to. We're _far_ beyond your understanding." He grinned, sluffing Felix off. Sam immediately felt the predatory eyes drop towards her. She knew in a moment he'd be devouring her from across the hall. She'd be like a rabbit to a hawk.

"No, but what about partners?" Jay glanced back up, angry, "Speaking of, I notice _yours_ isn't at your heels." He clicked his tongue, the condescension in it was palpable. Sam herself felt ashamed in that moment, and she wasn't even the target. She slinked further behind Felix in response.

"What she does with her off time is none of my concern." Jay bit back, his hands going to his hips. With each passing word, he lost more ground. Felix didn't adhere to plans after all, he stole progress with the force of his will and his weapons. That's… mostly why he was such an issue, but right now she wasn't about to spit in the gift horse's face. Or however you say it.

"And if I recall, her partner is that little ball of sunsh-" Jay leaned slightly on one foot, his finger thoughtfully placed to his chin as he tried to catch Sam in his gaze.

"Standing right here."

Felix dropped his head and the look therein was filled with hatred and malice Sam had never seen. If she felt like a rabbit, and Jay was a fox… then Felix was a wolf. Perhaps an entire pack of them. The weight of the conversation was so heavy and overbearing, she had shrank back even from him, seeking refuge at the corner of the hall by the lockers. Jay looked like he would break into a sweat at any moment. His expression matched what she felt. Even if Felix was speaking for her, she feared that he might turn that gaze on her.

That she would be devoured instead.

A breath hitched in her throat and her very soul was begging one of them to break the silence. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think, she couldn't move. It could not have gotten worse for her unless it had continued. Fortunately for her screaming lungs and freshly running eyes, neither of which she'd noticed yet, Jay spoke.

"You're her partner." For being so nervous, he spoke flatly, unimpressed. He didn't buy it. Why should he? It was a lie. Felix didn't have a partner. Felix didn't have anyone, not as far as he was concerned.

"I don't work well with people. She gives me distance. Is that so difficult for you to understand, _leader?_" Felix grinned, but the malice hadn't faded. Is this what it looked like to watch someone play with their food? To crush their opponent? She shivered, exhaling as quietly as she could as she watched him dismantle _their_ opponent. The enemy of my enemy…

Jay clicked his tongue, but it held no weight. It was defeated, it only conveyed a loss for words. The silence began to set in again, but Felix didn't feel like wasting time it seemed. He took a couple of steps forward, until he was leaning over the blue haired Jay. They never broke eye contact.

"If you have something to say to her, you can say it to me. I'll decide if it is worth her time. She's been too busy trying to figure out the perfect way to put you in your place."

"Has she?" Jay mused, "And how did she plan to do that?"

"You think she'd share such complicated things with me? I'm just a pawn. She pushes me around the board until I strangle the king and all his pieces."

"Is that so?"

"If we picked the time and place, she wouldn't need a single one of us to beat your entire team."

"So all I need to do is pick a time and place?"

"I'll even do you one better… keep it a secret. We'll find you." He grinned, their noses were literally touching. Felix parted his lips slightly and Sam couldn't decide if he was going to lick them or literally try to bite Jay at this point. She was aware, however, that she was sweating now. She exhaled slowly and quietly.

"F-f-fine…" he stuttered, finally glancing away.

Their duel had ended, and Jay had yielded. There was nothing he could do, when challenging strength such as that, tactics meant nothing. How could he have hoped to stand up to such a force of nature? Every single plan she had carefully cradled and crafted in her delicate arms and her mind. Each one she'd prepared had been torn apart by that vicious pack of wolves.

Then Felix turned around, his face once more that disappointed, disinterested mask. "Let's go," he grabbed her by the shoulder, turning her around and forcing her in step with him. As before, when she'd slipped in to hide next to him on the way back from the armory, he shortened his step so she could keep up easily. It didn't do much to alleviate how horrified she still was.

Here she was, a tiny little rabbit, surrounded by a pack of wolves. She had seen how angry he'd been back in the dorm. She'd seen how angry he ultimately was when Jay attempted to circumvent the altercation he desired so much. She'd seen how _hungry_ he'd been to prey upon something.

Perhaps it was territorial. She was his teammate, he was privy to her, but this lesser predator was not permitted. This lower creature, who tried to hunt in his territory, was not allowed to eat _his _rabbit.

She legitimately shivered this time.

"So what did you mean you wanted to work with me." His voice was monotone, tired. Suddenly, he looked deflated. His posture hadn't changed, the threat of violence hadn't quite evaporated either. Yet, he seemed completely drained at the same time. It was like everything in him had faded out and he was riding the adrenaline to its inevitable conclusion.

Emptiness.

"I-I-I…" she stammered into a halt, staring at her feet. She had no idea how this conversation had come back up. She knew it was dangerous territory. She knew that at any moment, any wrong step, any poorly spoken word… She shivered again. If he had wheeled that look on her she might have ended up like Olivia had in the exam.

Likely accompanied with screaming.

"I just declared us partners. Is that what you wanted? I just started henpecking. I figured that's what you were driving at." He shrugged. In an instant, all of the apprehension was gone. It was like he had shucked it onto the floor with that one simple move. His entire body seemed to slip into his pockets alongside his hands. He was empty and cold again. A hollow hole that hardly took up the space he occupied.

"I-I-I… yes…" she muttered into her hands. They were still clutched tightly around the neck of her uniform, and they very nearly muted her. Luckily, Felix appeared to have keen hearing.

"Fine, in return, you said I could train. If we're going to be partners," He tilted his head, glancing down at the cowering thing beside him. She caught his eye and quickly averted it. She'd been completely unaware she'd even looked up at him. Only the sudden eye contact jarred her to realize it was no longer the floor she'd been looking at, "Then you're training with me."

"With you?" She spoke lightly, around a deeply inhaled breath.

"Yes, we need to be able to work together. That's what you want, right?"

"I-yes."

"Then you'll have to pick one day for armory visits. We can't go every day. It will eat all our time." She focused on her breathing, watching her feet as she walked down the hall. She never remembered it being this long.

"Hey, eyes up Sam."

She flinched, spinning her head around as she tried to see what he meant. She realized he wasn't there beside her anymore, and she spun quickly to find him behind her. He was holding their door open with his back, hands still stuffed into his pockets.

"You overshot."

This wasn't going to plan at all.

Dipping into the room, it was like emerging from the desert into a wonderful oasis. The room seemed ten degrees cooler and she immediately felt a wave of relief wash over her. She wasn't dead, Jay couldn't reach her here, and she was back in her home away from home. Sighing contentedly, she paused by her bed.

"Felix, I have a question."

"You always do."

"How are we going to figure out where he's going to meet us?"

Felix laughed, closing the door. It was melodic and oddly beautiful. There was a regal air to it, and he somehow managed to look dignified doing it. Even as he wiped tears from his eyes and recomposed himself, she couldn't shake the thought that she'd never seen him legitimately express an emotion until today.

First, there had been his fury when he'd practically torn Jay apart in the hallway. That had horrified her. She'd never seen anything in her life with such bloodlust coursing through it besides the Grimm. Everything in her body had screamed to run because she was worried she was the next target of his unadulterated passion.

Now, it was his joy as he lost himself in something which she considered to be a very serious topic. This was, somehow, equally disheartening. It was also intensely disarming. She couldn't be afraid of him after that, there was such purity in that laughter that it almost made the previous emotions seem like a fraud. How could he switch so easily between such drastically different things?

"Felix, I'm serious. You just issued a challenge that I have no concept for addressing." She stomped her foot, feeling life come back into her body.

"I'm sorry," He leaned against the wall, bracing himself at a possible second coming of laughter, "That's funny on so many levels."

"Felix! How is it funny! I'm going to get mad if you don't give me _something_!"

"Alright, alright. I just can't believe you didn't realize it already."

"I am so completely done with this cryptic answering thing you've decided on."

"We're not going to meet him." Felix straightened up, still trying to fight a laugh if his smile was anything to go on. She realized it was probably her shocked expression that was triggering this upcoming bout.

"What?"

"He's an idiot Sam. He wants this so badly, he's going to take my words as they are. Honestly, they were a lot of claims, I'd be impressed if you could actually back them up… but I wouldn't be disappointed if you didn't."

"So you… don't think I could do those things?"

"Sam," Felix leveled with her, "If someone could do those things, we wouldn't fight wars. Those odds are impossible."

"Should I be… insulted?"

He snickered again, and she placed her hands on her hips. Any fear he'd instilled in her earlier had been erased by this impish behavior. She wanted to wrap his blanket around his head and beat him with his pillow until he suffocated from his own laughing fits.

"No Sam, I just thought the trap master would have seen it. I trapped him in his own pride. Come on, draw the lines. I'm still astounded you haven't figured this out. I _clearly_ gave you way too much credit."

Did he just tell a joke?

"Now you're just being rude!" She exhaled exasperatedly, "So you're telling me… you told him all of that to make him wander into the woods with his team… for nothing?"

"For absolutely nothing. I mean, this is practically deception 101."

"Huh, maybe I was giving you too _little_ credit."

"Now who's being rude?" He cocked an eyebrow at her as he crossed his arms, still smirking.

He had definitely told a joke.

"Felix, what the hell has gotten into you?"

"Leave it to Sam, needs an answer so bad she's gotta spoil a good mood." He sighed, cracking his neck.

"Look," He glanced away from her, "I've been thinking lately that I should try a little harder."

"You've been trying my patience pretty hard so far."

If he was making jokes, she wasn't going to pass on getting one in on him. It was only fair.

"While you're not wrong… that's not the point. I can't keep doing this. It is hurting the team," He grimaced a little, his eyes distant, "And it is hurting me."

"Fine, but you're working with me now. Gracie is working with Livy. I don't want you butting heads with her anymore."

"You also _probably_ want to keep an eye on me." He sighed.

"Only so I can judge your skills better, if you don't mind."

"I mind, but I imagine everyone does to some degree. I agree."

"Very well," She crossed her arms in victory, "And I want two days in the armory."

He narrowed his eyes, sizing her up, "Tuesday and Thursday."

"Deal." She reached up and extended one of her tiny hands.

"Deal." His hand was much larger, but it gripped hers rather gently. Like he was worried she would break. She squeezed back as hard as she could, scrunching her face up as she did.

He reached up and poked her nose, causing her to jump back.

"Hey!"

"Unless you're about to shower with me, I needed my hand back." He winked softly, an odd thing to do with such a blank expression as his characteristic composure washed back over him.

"Of course," She brushed some hair from her face as she smiled, "And thank you."

"Anytime," he waved over his shoulder as he dipped into the bathroom and shut the door.

She dropped onto her bed and quickly shed her uniform and squirreled away in her covers. She needed a nap so she could think all of the day over. A lot had just happened and she needed to organize it all neatly before school tomorrow.

Maybe this team thing would work out after all.

* * *

**Finally I can start playing the characters off each other.**

**I hope it was enjoyable to see a Felix who can actually display a little emotion. I felt it was really  
important to build up to that, for reasons.**

**Get at me.**


	8. Chapter 8: Timely Developments

**Oh man, sorry it took me so long to get this one up. I had a bunch of schedule changes and work was  
super complicated. I finally managed to get everything under control and pump this one out. It is a  
little short, but I felt it worked well. I'm finally getting a really good voice for a few of the other  
characters. I'm also putting in some work on a holiday project which should be a bit more fun for  
everyone.**

**I was really proud of the first half of this chapter, but the very latter end definitely was more focused  
on trying to get it out so I didn't feel this impending deadline which I'd already missed.**

**Hopefully you enjoy~**

* * *

The final bell rang and Felix immediately leaned back in his chair to check his scroll. A message had come in a little before class had ended. This was particularly odd, since no one had his contact information who would _possibly_ be sending him a message during class hours. Gracie hadn't spoken to him much since their altercation, and they never were very close to begin with. Olivia _could_ have done it, but he considered it unlikely. Sam would never, under any circumstance, opt to message him over paying rapt attention to Mr. Ren's class.

To his surprise, it was from Ms. Yang. It would figure that instructors would have access to student information, more so considering he was issued his scroll. A quick look informed him that he had, in fact, been cleared to use the training rooms again.

Well wouldn't you know?

Sam kept her end of the bargain after all, not that he had any reason to doubt her. Still, he felt there would have been some 'show of faith' required first. A sort of trial period he would have to complete before she considered following through. Instead, she went with a complete vote of confidence and had attended to it as her first order of business.

He wasn't about to look the gift horse in the mouth either, so he gathered his belongings and departed class bound for the very spaces he'd been forbidden to use. He was, after all, behind on his training. He grimaced at the thought that he might have actually rusted in the last few weeks since he'd been denied the opportunity to pursue his practice. Pushing the thought from his mind, he made a quick stop at the armory to acquire his weapon.

With his weapons now neatly seated at the back of his waist, he jogged purposefully through the halls. He was almost happy as he rounded a corner and made the last hallway to the training area. He breathed a deep sigh as he pushed the door open to what had swiftly become something like a sanctuary to him. He took a quick sniff of the air, the typical scent of sweat and hard work quickly filling his lungs. It wasn't a pleasant smell, but at the same time it was comforting.

Grinning widely, he stepped in rolling his shoulders as he started rehearsing his maneuvers in his head and prepared to stretch. However, the sound of a book coming down hard on one of the chairs jarred him from his thoughts. Glancing over, he saw Sam already sitting there with her legs and arms both crossed and her expression something akin to impatience.

"About time you got here," She barked. Her glare was surprising, not enough to illicit a reaction, but enough to give him pause.

"I'm sorry, did we have an appointment or something?"

"You said we were going to train. Except Tuesdays and Thursdays, which are my armory days? I got here as soon as class ended, but here you are taking your sweet time showing up." She grabbed the green book from the chair beside her and stood up, hoisting the strap of her rifle over her shoulder as she did.

"I didn't expect you to be waiting for me on the first day back."

"Did you think I wasn't taking you seriously or something?" She stomped up to him, jamming her fists into her hips defiantly as she stared up at him.

"No, I just figured… well… You know what? I don't believe I need to justify myself to you." He crossed his arms, tilting his head back a little in an attempt to appear intimidating. Whatever it was supposed to do didn't seem to faze her.

"Good, that will save us time." She pulled her book up and flipped through the pages rapidly, moving towards the back with practiced quickness, "Now I had a few ideas I wanted to pass by you since we're working together now."

"Hold on, hold on." He took a step back, holding both his hands out, "I haven't agreed to anything like that."

"You're right, _you_ never agreed to it," She said closing her book with finality, tucking it into her back pocket as she turned to him, "You _suggested_ it. _I_ agreed."

He couldn't even muster a response, and the quickly growing smirk on her face said she knew it. He was indeed the one who'd put the idea forward. He hadn't expected it to be thrown back in his face like this however. He placed a hand to his brow and shook his head slightly at how ridiculous this situation had grown.

"That's not the point I'm driving at."

"Then _get_ to your point. We don't have all day to practice you know."

Why was she the one being impatient with him? He wanted to get back in practice as soon as possible, and somehow now he was the one holding up the procession. He sighed, "Look, you are coming at this all a little quickly for me."

"I, much like yourself, don't have time to waste. I get to my point. You wanted to train together, so we're going to train together. I can't just stand over here and watch you go over your form. We have to do something together. Else it is pointless. So, do you have _anything_ else that is going to keep us from continuing, or can we assume that all of this has been handled and we can just start?" She pulled her rifle forward, tweaking with the bolt a little as she waited on a response.

He had nothing to say. She was completely right. As much as he wanted to just stand around and review his movements, like he always did, it _would_ in fact be pointless to train together if they didn't… you know… train _together._

"Fine. You're right. I'm going to stretch out then. You go over… whatever it is you're going to go over. Then we'll get started." He shook his head. Dropping down and starting his stretches.

"Fantastic, I'm glad we've got that out of the way." She cracked her neck, an oddly reminiscent action since he did it quite often before starting something he considered strenuous, "I built a few things that I think would capitalize on both of our abilities rather neatly that is a little more specific than just… me shooting into the fray around you."

"I find it hard to believe we can do much more beyond that, but I'm listening."

"Most of them _are_ retreat maneuvers, but they center on how you and I move amongst each other. I have more complicated things for when we have the others involved… but I figured it would be best to take it slowly." She sat down next to him as she pulled the book back out of her pocket and laid it out. Her fingers danced over it as she pulled it to a dog-eared page and started explaining the maneuver.

He marveled at the entire thing.

The book itself was so clearly a piece of her being. It was well-worn and the pages were barely hanging onto the binding. She had clearly loved this book dearly since they'd arrived at Beacon. Judging from where they were in comparison to either the front or back cover, she had a litany of maneuvers and plans strewn throughout it. The ones she had now were definitely new, likely devised that very day in her spare time. It was a nice feeling, but also disconcerting. She'd put this much work into their partnership already and they hadn't even really started working together.

She explained the entire set of tactics she wanted with expert precision. Speaking quickly but succinctly, he had little difficulty understanding her. Still, the intricacy and complexity was astounding. He milled with the idea that her plans involving the other two were likely much more freeform or simple, but at the same time he doubted Sam was much for tailoring her explanations. When you boiled it down, the maneuver itself wasn't particularly complicated, it was her way of wording it and the level of detail that went into possible applications which relayed how precise she was.

He grinned a little, it was kind of comforting.

Standing up, and with knowledge far beyond what he required to actually attempt the plan in question, _he _cracked his neck, "Alright. I think I'm ready."

It was a pretty simple design. Using the lashing motions of his whip blades, he would advance while she retreated within the dangerous web he'd crafted with his attacks. They went through the procedure roughly six or seven times before she relented. Leaning on her knees, sweat on her brow from all the dodging and dancing about, she looked up to him.

"There, I think that completes that one."

He didn't feel as convinced. He gave an experimental flick with his wrist, the blade jumping at his body's command. He frowned at it, staring into space as he went over their work so far. He played each individual move out in his mind before he finally turned to her, "Again."

"Sorry?"

"We're going to do it again." He spoke flatly, the certainty in his voice unmistakable.

"Nah, no reason to bore you with this one. We can try one of the others."

"No, we're going to do it again. It isn't right yet."

"What? No, you did fine. We have others to do too." She sighed, grimacing a little at the idea of having to weave her body around those blades again.

He knew that was the case, it had to be. She was only tired because he had been slow. He wasn't opening the gaps wide enough and frequently enough. She had to shift too much to the left and right with each step and it was draining her energy. If it were faster, cleaner, better, she could just step backwards without a worry and she wouldn't be tired at all. She wasn't tired; she just didn't think it could get better.

But he knew it could be so much better.

"I can do it better this time. Again."

Four more runs, each time he felt it come out a little better. A little smoother. But only a little, not enough. He could do better.

"Again." He said, as he had each time since. Sam looked at him, coated in sweat and oozing exhaustion.

"Again?" She sighed, breathing heavily.

"Again."

* * *

Tuesday evening was always the roughest for Gracie. At least it was _slightly_ better now that she didn't have to be around Felix. Still Felix was at least better than no company at all, and he was the only person who shared their last class of the day. As soon as the bell rang she watched him neatly gather his things and take off. Frowning slightly, she shook her head as she grabbed her notebook and slipped into the hallway.

Beacon was a pretty big place for a small town girl like her. She was used to things being a little more crowded, closer, tight knit. Realizing that it would take an inordinate amount of time to really get to know everyone only put that much more of a damper on the situation. It created a real sense of loneliness, like the students who passed her were simply faceless facsimiles of people. Sure, they had their own lives and dreams and goals, but they would likely forever remain a mystery. Something they kept among themselves and their own small pack of friends.

Not only that, but her own immediate peer group was less than sociable in the long run. Felix was a black hole for conversation. Sam was constantly drowned in her own thoughts and far too busy evaluating the room to stick to a conversation. Livy was better, but it was tough sometimes even with her. She felt like someone who didn't quite see eye to eye with her. It was strange, for all of her joy and happiness; it was like they had completely different views of the world.

She trod down the hallway, her thoughts drifting to her old school. It was nicer there, a little smaller, a little closer, more intimate. It didn't take her terribly long to know just about everyone she saw in the halls and the different class groups. In comparison, Sanctum was to Beacon what her home was to the world itself. It just felt so much smaller. It really created a sense of insignificance.

Home.

She hadn't thought about it in quite a while, and it immediately warmed her heart to drift back. She wondered what her folks were up to on the farm, and if any of her brothers who'd schooled with her had gotten picked up for the military academy in Atlas.

She was a farm girl at her core, and her family very much reflected her country upbringing. She had six brothers, a twin sister, and three other sisters. A massive family meant more hands to work the land when they got older, and they needed all the help they could get. In the pecking order, two of her brothers were older than her, and one sister was as well. That left her two younger sisters and four younger brothers. Needless to say, dinner time was a bit of a mess.

Sure, she'd gotten some schooling, but the option to go to any kind of higher learning was limited by finances. Her family wasn't poor, but they weren't well to do either. In the end, it had come down to drawn straws with the children who actually enjoyed the idea of doing something besides farming. She smiled as she remembered that, in fact, she hadn't even pulled one of the big ones. All her older siblings managed that lucky feat, but she'd taken a solid brawl to the eldest of the brothers and won her own ticket to Sanctum through sheer strength.

She was pretty proud of that.

She was jarred from her thoughts when she ran head long into someone who was none too pleased with the situation.

"Watch where you're going, you cow." She glanced down at the blue-haired figure and frowned slightly.

"Sorry, I was lost in thought."

"Like you think about anything besides your next meal." He crossed his arms as he turned away from the girl who was standing beside him. She immediately took to staring at her feet, but her entire demeanor seemed relieved at the addition of a new figure.

"No need to be brusque." Gracie snorted derisively at him. She was not in the mood to handle whatever attitude he was spewing to her. It was a mistake, she'd apologized. Either demand satisfaction or step off. Rudeness served no purpose.

"I'll be whatever I want, you should watch where you're going if you don't want deal with any of this." He gestured to himself, and for a moment she felt like she was having a conversation with Felix. Although, _this_ Felix was an outright asshole.

"Oh, so you want to slug it out then? I'll slug it out. We don't even need to get weapons."

"Please, I don't dirty my clothes for trash."

"Trash?"

"Just like the rest of your team, and I'll be proving that this weekend. Now why don't you scurry on back to your master and let me return to my conversation."

"Master?" Gracie was definitely growing furious now. Her hands were clenched tightly into fists as she shook with fury. The rest of the hall had frozen to watch the exchange. It didn't matter to her, but he seemed emboldened by their eyes.

"You heard me, or are you just lost now? I see you don't have your collar on, how will we ever get you home now?" He sneered mockingly, leaning back on his heel as he incited her further.

She didn't want to walk away from a fight, and she especially didn't want to let him have a victory out of this, but she was stuck. He had insulted her, and striking out or walking away would both be spun to be his victory. She wished Felix were here to snipe at him with some cutting commentary, or Livy were present to help calm her down. Even having Sam cowering at her side would have given her some more direction, let her justify walking away with a more valid reason.

"Whatever, you're not worth my time." She sighed, deciding discretion was the better part of valor here. She'd already blown up and shoved Felix the other day, she wasn't going to be goaded like that a second time. If her teammates weren't present to save her, she'd simply let her pride do it.

"You're not worth mine either, but send that lovely little blonde my way some time. I'll gladly let her have some." He paused tactically, letting the comment sink in, "Of my _time_ of course."

She wheeled to crush his skull, his aura, his _face_, as her massive arm cocked back.

A pair of hands shot up and wrapped around her arm and spoke up immediately, "Aw, you don't have to flex for me _every_ time I come see you after class." Gracie glanced down her arm and caught the brilliant green eyes of Livy.

* * *

Livy wasn't sure what all the ruckus had been about when she'd first approached, she could only see that tensions were high. She didn't so much _see_ emotion as much as she could just _feel_ it. It was her semblance. She could focus it to draw out an increased adrenal response. A power up, if you will. Not on herself, mind you, but on others. She could also sense emotions around her. Sometimes they were vague, visceral, but other times, like now, they were pure and unadulterated. When they were _this_ focused she could tell you exactly what was being experienced, sometimes she could even describe it perfectly as if she herself was experiencing it.

In some ways, she was, they flowed through her.

It was part of why she liked Gracie as much as she did, if there was ever someone who was more perfectly their emotions, it was her. If she was angry, it was pure and easy to read. If she was happy, it was infectious and contagious. Being around her made things a little easier, especially considering her presence always seemed to turn her into a massive bright ball of warm happiness. If it were a color, it would most definitely be yellow, and that was Livy's color to a T.

Even now, as she caught her mid-swing at JSPR's leader Jay, it was like the entire situation was diffused. Gracie seemed to explode in a mix of happiness and embarrassment. Livy would talk to her about it later, it was nothing to be ashamed of, but she'd want to be reassured.

That was the _second_ aspect that her semblance lent to her. She had become oddly manipulative. She did her best to shy away from it, to avoid it, but it was difficult. When you knew what someone was feeling perfectly, and you immersed yourself in it, you can find the route to the other side. You knew the path to take them to another emotion or give them another thought. To make them do what you wanted them to do. She couldn't help it sometimes; she wanted people to be happy even if she occasionally forced them to do it. It was wrong, and she knew it, but she still found herself doing it once in awhile.

Never with Gracie though. She didn't ever want to muddy up that purity. It was too true and beautiful.

She made a kissing face, wrapping around the flexed arm like a model displaying a body builder as she looked at the rest of the students around her, "See how _big_ these babies are? She could bench Jay _and_ his partner and hardly strain. That's pretty cool right? She loves to show'em off." She smiled proudly as the students seemed to quickly lose interest now that the fight was off.

"You didn't have to do that," Gracie responded, seeming to completely forget about the previous scenario. In fact, she likely _would_ have had Jay not spoken up.

"Olivia, what a coincidence to see you here."

He earned a slightly surprised expression from Gracie, who _had_ completely put him out of her thoughts. Oh Gracie, she was just too much sometimes. Meanwhile, Livy answered back with her own fake smile. Two could play at this game, and it was also the fastest way to put him off his feet. It worked the same in class, when he believed something and had it circumvented it left him in a state of distressed confusion. He didn't respond well to unexpected situations.

"Jay! What a pleasure to see you and Reina here! I didn't think you the type to walk her back to the dorm after class! What a gentleman!" She peeked over and smiled to Reina. She returned one of the most distressing auras Livy had seen. It only just occurred to her how _distorted_ it was, now that it was immediately before her. It was so small, willing itself into a tiny ball as if even her emotions were trying to hide themselves. It made Sam look like a caricature.

Perhaps they _both_ didn't like crowds? That didn't really explain it, but she put it out of her mind for now. If Jay got to talking, even she might not be able to calm Gracie. _Especially_ if he were to direct his remarks at Livy. That was a one-way ticket to the worst kind of show.

"Right. Of course, perhaps you should fetch your dog before they knock over some of the smaller students."

"I don't see any dogs around here, but I _do_ see my loyal and lovable teammate, who is due in the gym and shouldn't keep me waiting next time." She pushed him back out of the conversation as she playfully chided Gracie. They weren't really due to go to the gym, but she knew a work out would make her feel good again. She wanted that, to see her smile again.

"Yeah, sorry about that Livy, I just got a little hung up."

"Well, get that butt moving, those weights aren't going to lift themselves. You two have a good day!" She waved over her shoulder at them. She was not typically the type to take any pleasure in shooting someone down like she had Jay, and she still didn't enjoy doing it. It was just a little easier to justify when they were being cruel. After all, no true hero wants to kill, but sometimes they must.

After a vigorous lifting session and a well-deserved shower, Gracie was back into fighting shape.

"I really can't believe that Jay character," Gracie grumbled, growling slightly before a definitive click of her teeth.

Livy smiled, there was that embarrassment. She expressed it as anger, but she was more disappointed that she had felt herself crumbling. "Gracie, he wanted to provoke you because he knew it'd upset you." She wrapped herself around the arm she'd trapped earlier, "That's why he changed his tactics to bad mouth me in the last moment. You'd beaten him. Felix would have nodded in approval. Both at your decision to walk _and_ at your decision to bash his head in for talking down on one of your teammates."

That was the sweet-spot with Gracie.

It was funny actually. No matter how she cut it, Gracie didn't like him. However, it was for a very simple reason. It wasn't his attitude, she could care less how he acted. It wasn't the insults he'd slung the other day, that had just been the last straw on the camel's back. It was a simple, stupid reason. She wanted to fight with him and determine who was a better fighter.

That was it.

So any 'battle' where he might approve of her actions made her feel equal, powerful. That was the speediest route to perking Gracie up, compare her positively to Felix.

"You think so?" She responded, her embarrassment starting to give way to her pride.

"Of course, have you heard the story from Sam yet about how he practically snarled in Jay's face? I'm pretty sure he walked into the situation and thought 'what would Gracie do' and just followed suit. You took a play out of his book, and Jay felt slighted he was getting the same treatment twice." Livy smiled gracefully, nodding a little.

"Well, I guess I would have snarled in his face. You know… if the situation was right." Slowly her blustery pride gave way to satisfaction, the close cousin of happiness, and that wonderful feeling soon washed over the rest of it. She'd completely pushed the Jay scenario into the past now.

"I was pretty strong out there, huh?" She flexed her free arm in response as she grinned to Livy.

"Of course, you're my big strong puppy."

"More dog comments?" Gracie grinned.

"Oh, you know I mean it in the best ways."

"That's what I'm worried about, I'm starting to like it."

They had a pretty good laugh as they pulled into the dorm.

Sam and Felix were already there, quietly mulling over plans on Felix's bed. They were huddled together sitting cross legged, and it was the single most confusing ball of emotions she'd ever had to deal with.

She had the absolute _hardest_ time sorting out Felix. He was different. Not as a person exactly, but through the lens of her semblance. It was like he was muted, grey, empty of emotion. The only occasion she'd ever been able to pinpoint him was anger. That was the same night he'd had a confrontation with Jay. Judging by the story Sam regaled her with later, it had been palpable.

Sam on the other hand, was practically the entire corner she could feel in the corner. She was a stern woman, and she managed to hide her feelings pretty well in a physical sense. However, on the emotional front, she was an open book. Saying she was elated to work with someone who so fervently studied her plans would have been the understatement of the year. She could have rivaled Gracie for joy right now.

Yet, beside her was a blank slate that gave off almost nothing.

It was an unsettling feeling to have someone she couldn't read. It was the closest to dislike she could get. Unsettled. Still, no one worked that hard at something which _clearly_ made someone else happy if they were bad, so she would get over it eventually.

She yawned. It had been a long day. Keeping up with Gracie's exuberance was tough even for her, how someone could be that happy all the time was amazing and mysterious. She decided turning in for the night would be the best decision now. Tomorrow would be more of the same, and if she was tired she might miss out on it.

* * *

Sam sighed heavily as she finally left the armory.

She hadn't expected it to be such a quick session. The first time they'd worked together, he had mostly watched her and Ruby work with her rifle. Then he'd demonstrated his own weapon for them. This time, he had been directly involved with the cleaning of her weapon and no demonstrations were given. To that end, she had learned a few things about him in the process.

First, he was a perfectionist in ways she could only dream to be. Or have nightmares about. He didn't seem to hold others to those standards, but when it came to his own actions? He was constantly grumbling quietly and clicking his tongue in distaste at every action he took. Their entire training session yesterday consisted almost entirely of this. First he would chant again, then the end of their rehearsal was a distinct click of the tongue and they would repeat.

Cleaning her rifle had gone much the same at first. Every time he would get hung up attempting to disassemble a part he would click his tongue. Every time he found that a part wasn't perfectly oiled, he would click his tongue. It was irritating to say the least. Ironically, she learned the second part in response.

He had the most childlike response to compliments and admiration.

As much as he saw himself as insufficient, he was surprisingly knowledgeable and capable at working with their weapons. She had been impressed enough to offer him a few compliments near the end of their session. What she got in response was an immediate blush and the most self-conscious smile she'd seen since one of her little sisters. He'd almost seemed to huddle down and work harder in an attempt to earn more recognition for his work. It even halted his tongue clicking.

It was a strange word to put in when describing him, but it was insufferably adorable to watch.

He was a completely different person than the one he'd crafted for an appearance. It had been two days and she'd already learned enough to know that he was rather far flung from the callous and cold exterior he masqueraded as. He strove for perfection in everything he did, and his eyes had a certain faraway look when he was focused on his thoughts. He was careful and focused and had a keen eye for tactics. His ability to visualize things went well beyond her own, whereas she focused on theory he was all about the actual physical enactment.

He was quite the asset when it came to building tactics and she was eager to put him to the test now that they were coming together as a team.

Smiling to herself, she pulled her tiny green tactics book from her back pocket and immediately flipped to the most recent set of maneuvers _they_ had created. It had been a lot of fun. When they finished maintenance she had stolen a bit of his time to go over any ideas _he_ had which they team might try. She figured it might make him feel a little more invested and involved in their success if he contributed directly.

It had been a tense moment for her, handing over that book. She considered planning things out to be a key factor in understanding how she thought about the world. It gave ideas for how she might escape, employ others in battle, how she thought about objectives as well as protecting the team as they worked.

It felt like she was offering her soul up for judgement when she offered him the book. She'd watched with bated breath as he flipped from the very first ideas to the most recent one. Silence had eclipsed them as he turned back through it in reverse, evaluating and visualizing each movement and the coordination involved. Then he had quietly pulled forth and pen and asked politely if he could add a few things. She didn't want to let anyone write in _her_ book, but she didn't want to chase him away now that he was opening up.

This was the result of his work. _Their _work.

He had written out a few notes in the corners of an empty page, he admitted to being a terrible artist so he left the creation of her little doodles that filled the other pages to her hands. He simply provided a few notes to nudge her in certain directions and elaborate on several ideas that she had yet to explore. It was odd, rereading those notes. She felt like she'd had those ideas before herself, yet at the same time they seemed like foreign concepts she had never embraced at the same time. As if he'd written her own thoughts down and seeing them in another's penmanship only served to alienate them from herself.

Still, his hand writing was beautiful and she had enjoyed giving images to the words he'd crafted. Not to mention the plans were more like evolutions of her own previous ones, specifically a few that had not previously incorporated him.

As she turned the book in her hands, better inspecting a maneuver he'd named something ridiculous that she couldn't quite read she slammed directly into something. She stumbled backwards, dropping the book as she struggled to get her feet beneath her.

"I swear, no one on your team can watch where they're walking." Jay glanced down at her fallen book. Leaning down as she was still trying to gather herself together.

She blinked a few times to clear her vision as stars danced before her. When she finally realized who it was, she frowned, preparing to take a step back to keep him further than an arm's length away. Then she saw what he'd grabbed from the floor.

She watched in horror and disgust as he turned the book over in his hands as he inspected it.

"Give that back." She choked the words out. He didn't have the same menacing nature as before, but she knew it was lurking in there somewhere and it still scared her.

"What, this?" He mused, lifting the book in his hand and softly tilting it towards her. She snaked out and grabbed hold of it, but he didn't let it go. His fingers locked down, gripping it in place so she couldn't immediately retreat, "You should really hold on to your things better."

She reached up with her second hand and took a firmer grip, planting her feet and wrenching it from his grip, but not before he managed to brush his own fingertips against hers. Shivering, she clutched the book to her chest and took two quick steps back from him. She breathed heavily as she protectively huddled around her keepsake.

Jay gave her a smile, the finger which had touched her coming into his chest where his other hand grasped it possessively, "I'm sure you don't want just anyone taking things from you."

She snorted, narrowing her eyes, "Of course not."

"Of course not. Well, I'll be seeing you around Sam," he smiled again, and it finally pierced through.

His teeth seemed sharp, wide, and they shone in the evening sunlight. It occurred to her just how often they wandered the halls so close to sundown, a time where monsters lurked in the shadows and waited to creep out and stalk the night.

She gave a curt nod and walked past him, giving him a wide berth and never letting him out of her sight. He responded by turning to face her the entire way, standing menacingly in the hall until she turned the corner and he was gone from sight. As soon as she rounded the corner, she took off in a sprint and barreled towards her dorm room as quickly as her feet would carry her. She didn't want to wait for Felix to come out of the armory and find her and she certainly didn't want to wait around to see if Jay was going to follow her.

As she slipped into the dorm she leaned back against the door and exhaled deeply.

Livy immediately leaned out from her bed and shot her a concerned glance, "You okay Sam?"

"Fine, I'm just fine." She didn't want to be the focus of a conversation right now. She wanted to talk about something else, anything else.

"How was the armory?" Livy responded, changing the topic as if on cue.

"It went pretty well, actually. He's very good with his hands." Sam breathed a sigh of relief, though hopefully not _too_ relieved. She didn't want to turn around and dig back into the other topic that had been on her mind.

"Aw, he's blushing!" Livy chortled with laughter, and she heard Gracie join in just around the corner. Sam looked up and realized Felix had beaten her back. She wasn't sure _how_ but he had. Livy was right; he immediately huddled grumpily into his scroll, the translucent screen doing nothing to hide the redness on his cheeks.

It was nice that he didn't snipe back a sarcastic comment for once, instead choosing to just stew on her chiding. It was showing an improvement, and it made her proud of all of them.

* * *

**Finally got the whole team represented. Super happy about that.**

**I am still working on sorting out the other team, and I'm going to separate their Arc 1 to be a tale all  
its own since they have their own problems and I like to keep things organized.  
I also, admittedly, have no idea what their first Arc is yet.**

**Anyways, hope you enjoyed.**

**Get at me~**


	9. Chapter 9: Form(ian)ation Disruption

**Finally got this one up. And on time too! Although I guess I'm not terrible on dead lines.**

**I even got some more active instructors involved. I can feel my confidence rising with every piece.**

**Not the greatest chapter, but still a lot of fun to write. That's the important part.**

* * *

Jaune rubbed his forehead, picking through the various piles of paperwork before him. He had never really been a fan of work like this, and he'd always hoped he'd have a more _hands on_ approach to learning. In the end, he felt uninvolved with the entire school which had become such a passion for him in recent years. Maybe he'd grow to love paperwork in his 40's once he'd done it for a few more years. He doubted it, but you never really knew.

With so many of their talented hunters having followed his call to action in assisting with the students, local problems had started to rise from Grimm presence. That was the main reason he'd set the teams to task, with a teacher in tow of course, on some good will work. Maybe help out around some of the nearby villages, or a few of the older teams could handle easier Grimm work. Either way, it meant he was stressed at the wellbeing of his students.

Having a teacher in tow was in no way a guarantee of safety, and he'd have preferred _not_ having to send them out on errands better suited for fully grown hunters. Or the very least, third year students.

In the end, however, he'd acquiesced to the idea that such things fell under a hunter's duty. That, and it would instill faith in the people as well as the idea that not _all_ jobs hunters do are glorious. Not everything was going to end like Professor Port's wild tall tales. Though, perhaps this generation wasn't quite as wide-eyed as his had been. At the very least, they didn't have an instructor quite so… fanciful.

The door to his office opened and he glanced up, a light gleaming in his eyes at _anything_ that might give him an excuse to put off his filing. "Oh, what a pleasant surprise. Don't usually catch _you_ up here with all the moth ridden paperwork and its keeper."

"Hi Jaune," Ruby beamed, practically skipping in, "I thought that you might be bored, so I came up to keep you company!"

"You are aware that just because Weiss is out with a team doesn't mean we suddenly have time to play games when I should be working, right?" He smiled wryly, cocking an eyebrow.

Ruby blushed and fumbled around for some words, "Wha- No! I wasn't going to suggest we put off your work and play some games since Weiss isn't here to remind us we have actual jobs to do now!" She spoke at an ever quickening pace until she hit the end of the sentence.

She had _definitely_ intended to distract him from work with games.

"Oh, well then, forgive me for assuming. I would welcome company, these files aren't talkative at all."

"I don't envy you Jaune, that looks like a lotta work. You haven't been putting it off, haaaaaave you?" She shot him a devilish smile as she hopped onto the corner of his desk and watched him work. Usually, he felt like his desk was terribly small, what with it almost _constantly_ being full of work that he couldn't seem to get appropriately organized. Now, however, he felt it was far too large and Ruby was too far away. He sighed, picking through another set of transcripts.

"I don't envy me either, I'd trade in a heartbeat."

"I don't think that'd work at all though! You're good at this, even if it is _super_ boring. You care about each one, the students I mean! So you make sure everything is perfect before you call it quits! Our Jaune, always caring!" He smiled in response, and even if he was used to her praises it still made him blush a little.

"Well, that's how it works. Not really suited for the job if you don't. You care too though. I'm not the only one, I think we all do."

"Well _yeah_ but come on. Can you imagine Nora or me actually getting any of this stuff done on time?"

That _was _an image to think about, but no, it would never happen. Nora would just hassle Ren to do it for her. Really, he _was_ the best for it. Weiss, as sharp as she was did much better with a more direct job. She'd never admit it, but she was a lot like Ruby in that she preferred to immediately have her results, even if some of her goals just couldn't work that way. Sighing, he dropped another folder into the growing pile beside his chair.

"I can see you getting it done on time, your semblance would _definitely_ assist in some of the finer points. I just wonder if you'd remember them all the time."

"Hey! I pay plenty of attention to detail!" Ruby crossed her arms, pouting a little.

"I'm not saying you don't, I just think my work would put you in a sleeper hold and you'd be napping before lunch time." He chuckled a little, leaning back from his work. Ruby pursed her lips, unrelenting in her silent complaint.

After a few seconds she dismissed it and jumped up, "Oh, I got a message from Yang! She said it was Formians!"

Jaune paused, narrow his eyebrows, "So why didn't she come up and tell me herself?"

"Because she's… still out there? It was a _message_ Jaune." Ruby shook her head, squaring her lips.

"But she has students with her Ruby. First year students. They're not supposed to be dealing with Grimm right now. That's not the point."

"Oh come on, my team did, your team did. Heck, some of us had done it before we even got into the school! We're hunters! That's what we do!" Her reply didn't satisfy him, he glowered slightly.

"That's not the point, Ruby. Ozpin was… different. The things we did were all part of some ever-revolving plan he had cooking. The man used people like pawns. This isn't his school anymore, it is _mine._ It is my responsibility to take care of the students. I expressly stated that any encounter with Grimm while accompanying the first years should immediately be called off." He crossed his arms, standing from his chair, "They _want_ to be hunters, but they aren't yet. That's an important distinction to make."

Ruby sighed, she never did appreciate when he got stern, "I know Jaune, I'm not a child. I just think Yang is a good judge of 'appropriate'."

Jaune scoffed, "Her humor does little to instill that in me."

"Hey! That's my sister you're talking about! Thin ice buster!" She shot him a glare, but like most negative emotions, it didn't last long. She immediately switched back to trying to be comforting, "Look, I promise whatever is going on, if it was any kind of _actual_ danger she'd already be home. Alright? If we learn different, I'll gripe her out myself."

"I'd like to see that, honestly," Jaune smiled softly, peering out his window. She _was_ right, and when it came to combat not a lot of people could judge capability better than Yang. Still, it didn't assuage his concerns, it only raised more which were prickling in the back of his mind, "Have you heard anything from Qrow lately?"

"He sent me pictures of Falco!" Ruby swiftly pulled her scroll out and flipped through it to reveal some photos of a small boy who looked frighteningly like Weiss and Winter, but with the ever-present narrowed brows of Qrow.

"Wow, he's getting pretty big."

"Right? I can't wait to see him over the holidays! I wonder if he'll wanna play with Aunt Ruby or Aunt Weiss more."

"Somehow, I get the feeling he won't want to play at all, look at that face. I feel like that picture is going to negotiate buying Beacon."

"He does look like a shrewd little business man, doesn't he? Oh! If we had kids do you thi-"

"I'm going to stop you right there. I was just curious if he's said anything about the matter I'd asked him to look into around Atlas."

"You're no fun! But… no. He doesn't really talk to me about work. I think he's still trying to be overprotective."

"Even after all the times you've pulled _him_ from the fire?"

"And hooked him up with Winter!"

"I don't think he considers that a favor."

"I know _Aunt_ _Weiss_ doesn't." Ruby grinned maliciously, but really it was only adorable. She would never manage foreboding the way Weiss could_._

_And would, _if she were in earshot when Ruby mentioned her particular title…

"Let's _not_ start that," Jaune said cautiously.

"Who are you kidding? I'm going to call her that all night tonight!"

He shook his head, the damage had been done. He could only hope things were going more swimmingly with these Formians. He had enough problems coming his way.

* * *

It had easily been two or three hours of slogging through the woods, and Sam was starting to think they might have overvalued Gracie's ability to track something. She had faith that Gracie wasn't lying, but it was starting to seem fruitless. Perhaps the Formians had simply run off too far, or taken to the trees. Still she seemed really adamant about the work, stopping occasionally to inspect the ground further before continuing onwards.

The woods themselves were starting to really creep in on them, and the fact it was the late afternoon was putting a rather pressing clock on their work now. Especially with how far Gracie had tracked them into the woods. They would have to account for getting back out at this rate, and it already seemed like it would be night by the time they got there. Sam huddled against her rifle at the thought of creeping through the woods in the dark.

"Are we actually making any progress? I feel like we could have walked a deer to death by now," Felix sighed loudly.

In an uncharacteristic reaction from Gracie, she turned around and grimaced. It wasn't with irritation either. It was oddly conflicted. In that instant, Sam felt bad that she had doubted her tracking ability. She felt like she'd invited whatever failure had sparked such a morose expression. However, an instant later it dissipated as Gracie spoke up.

"More or less, it isn't an easy trail."

"We have faith in you, you'll get those bugs." Livy chimed in, smiling softly beside her.

"Well don't beat yourself up if you can't corner them. I mean, it was just two," Professor Yang rested her hands on the back of her head as she peered around the woods, "Though we might need you to track a way home at this rate. We're really in here, aren't we?"

Felix crossed his arms, glancing into the encroaching darkness of the forest, "It is getting pretty late in the day too. I don't think any of us want to be here when night falls. Good or not, I don't think you'd be able to get us anywhere in the dark."

"Yeah, there're just a few things I'm concerned about. I'll be honest, we've actually circled the same spot for the last twenty or so minutes." Gracie pressed her lips together thoughtfully.

"I hope it was on purpose," Felix mused thoughtfully. Gracie glared at him, but dismissed it. It was rare to turn down an argument. It only hammered home how important she thought the issue was.

"Alright, let's hear why then. I'm pretty open, ya know?" Professor Yang grinned. Livy giggled softly and Felix was immediately defused into a heavy sigh as he threw his hands up in the air.

"Yang, how often do Formian frequent a location?" Gracie asked, running her hands over the ground.

"Hmm, that's hard to say. Why, what's up? I might need a little context."

"There are a _lot_ of tracks around here… our two are in there… but it gets so muddled up around here that it would be hard to find the exact ones." She set a hand flat on the ground, glancing up, "And a few of them are _really_ big. At least compared to the others."

Professor Yang crossed her arms, cursing under her breath, "And you're sure?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Unless there's an Ursa that wanders the area too… yea, completely. I could probably track them to their nest too." Gracie stood up, crossing her arms.

"Well, _how_ many is a lot?" Professor Yang rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"That's tough to say. They're tracks. Some of them could be stepping on the same spots. Some might have different weights, or it could just be the same one walking back over its own steps. Still, it is like the ground is just one giant track at this point. It is almost innumerable."

"Is that _bad_?" Livy asked, knitting her fingers together as she offered a weak smile.

"It is pretty bad." Professor Yang answered with a nod.

"Well then we should leave." Felix replied, looking to the sky. He seemed oddly eager to leave, and it occurred to Sam that his mood had only gotten more impatient as the day had dragged on.

"That wouldn't be a terrible idea," Livy mirrored, looking at everyone else, "We wouldn't want to fight them in the dark. Or at all if there are that many."

"Yang said they're super weak, I think we should just smash 'em while we're out here. No reason to send a group of hunters after some bugs. Just crush the blighters and move on."

Yang chewed her lip, she was thinking about something. Sam wasn't sure what it was, but it didn't look hopeful.

She hadn't weighed in, and she knew her opinion was going to hold extra weight. She was their leader after all, and in the end they were supposed to take her direction. Of course, she could see the positives to both plans, and she peered around the woods as she thought over her options.

Felix was probably in the same boat as Professor Yang. This wasn't their job anymore, and she could appreciate that. The Headmaster had said these were mostly good-will missions. Go out, help the townsfolk, and if at all possible avoid fighting the Grimm. Leaving now would most assuredly lend to that. They'd beat the encroaching Formians away and helped fix some fences and dispose of some dead cattle. Not only that, night was approaching and they had nothing to serve as light. As it was right now, they'd be stumbling back in the dark for the last leg of their journey.

On the other hand, if it was just an excess of tracks built up over time or something of the sort, it wouldn't be adverse to just wipe the bugs out. However, the mention of the larger track seemed to have set their Professor off balance. Professor Yang hadn't said anything notable about it yet. At least nothing Sam remembered up front, but it still didn't sit right with her. If it were a viable threat then they should most _definitely_ avoid it. Especially if such an experienced huntress was ill at ease about it.

Still, it seemed a waste to have come all the way out here only to leave empty handed.

Other hunters could certainly handle the job if they left it alone, but was that their only real option?

"Sam, do you have an opinion? Or can we just leave?" Glancing up to Felix, she realized it was more than her imagination. He couldn't even make eye contact, which was rare for him. He was completely engrossed in the forest, as well as checking the light coming down overhead.

She cast an eye over the rest of them. Gracie stood with her arms crossed, the heavy metal ball dangling off where it was wound around her wrist. Livy continued to tent her fingers, standing in Gracie's shadow. Professor Yang just offered a quizzical gaze as she waited for an answer.

"I think we should at least scout it out." She replied, glancing into the woods for a moment.

"Scout it out?" Gracie asked, slight disappointment in her voice.

"Huh, neat idea." Professor Yang mused, her face squared up in disappointment. It seemed to be directed inwards however, as she immediately scrunched up her face and scratched her head.

"How so?" Felix asked, sinking his hands into his pockets. He clicked his tongue softly as he turned his gaze towards the woods behind Gracie, where their quarry likely lurked.

"We probably shouldn't fight them. We don't know how many there are or even exactly where they are. Considering they like to lurk in the trees, with the fading light we won't know until they're right on top of us if we go blundering in after them." She rubbed her chin as she spoke, "However, if we just leave then the recon work is _also_ being left to the hunters who come in to clean up. Besides, we can't make a determination as to their actual threat level until we've assessed the situation completely."

Taking a deep breath, she looked about as she paused. Everyone was staring with rapt attention, clearly in tune with the fact she wasn't done. Considering how rebellious they'd been to this point, it was surprising they were hanging on her words so completely. At least to her. Professor Yang was wearing a rather satisfied smile.

"Go on," She chimed in, the moment Sam noticed her expression. Clearing her throat, Sam did exactly that.

"If we use Gracie's tracking and the general frequency of the tracks, we can better evaluate their exact location. As long as we're careful, we won't wander into their _actual_ territory. We only have so much day light left anyway, so we can call off the investigation before we lose the last of it so we can orient ourselves home, and if anything goes awry or they come towards _us_ we'll have the advantage. Whether we defend ourselves or flee, they'll be coming onto territory we've at least tracked over once or twice."

"I can't contend with any of that. However it doesn't change the fact that we'll still have to travel in the dark to get back to town." Felix offered grumpily.

"That's unavoidable at this point. Gracie didn't want to startle us or let us down, but she did use some of our spare time in the process. We simply have to accept that for what it is. Leaving now would still have us traveling in the dark. I say the least we can do is acquire information for the hunters who come in after us. Then we've at least served _some_ purpose."

"Well I think that's a wonderful plan! Gracie?" Livy smiled, tugging on her partner's arm.

"I like a good dust up, but I can settle with playing the forerunner. It isn't such a bad job in the end."

"Felix?" Sam asked, turning to him at last. As per usual, he seemed less than keen offering his advice. She seemed to startle him from his thoughts.

"I agree. Let's just do it and get out of here."

"Well," Professor Yang grinned, "I fully approve of it as both a huntress _and_ a Professor. Let's make this omelet."

* * *

Everything had gone _so_ well at first, or at least that's what Livy had felt at the time. Everyone was in pretty high spirits and they'd been narrowing the circle as to exactly the size of the nest. Night had swept in far faster than anticipated due to the tree coverage, but at Sam's behest they'd kept up the hunt a little longer.

The plan had actually yielded some very valuable information.

The nest was _far_ larger than previously anticipated. Judging by the frequency of the tracks, as well as a few that _anyone_ could have tracked; they had narrowed the size to within the three hundred. It was a small miracle they hadn't elected to dive right in to something _that_ big. Not only that, but it was an anomalous nest in that it had several 'Queens' within it. This meant, untended, it could balloon in size in an extremely short length of time.

It also meant that having Yang around wouldn't have increased their odds of success much more than if they'd been alone. At least, that was what she'd guessed by Yang's reaction. Even a team of veteran hunters would likely pick this particular flower with care.

Which only served to make it all the more distressing when the ground had suddenly shook as a pair of massive, black, red-eyed forms had crashed down before them.

Even Professor Yang had jumped with the sudden tension of the momentary standoff. Livy had personally snatched a sharp breath as she reached out and took Gracie's arm. Felix had frozen at the sheer weight of the scenario, his back towards the creatures behind him. Gracie had grown stiff, her entire body poised for battle and every muscle fiber in her body tightening to prepare for what might come next. Only Sam seemed to remain calm, her eyes darting frantically around as she measured the situation. Without her semblance, she would have mistaken it for panic as opposed to the calculated thoughtfulness which composed her through sheer force of will.

"Gracie! Take point! Go!" Sam's rifle came up an instant later and she fired several rounds over Felix's shoulder at the blobs. Gracie wheeled on her heel and dragged Livy with her as she bolted past Professor Yang. In the brief moment of light that erupted around the flash of Sam's muzzle, Livy had seen the Queen Formians.

They were huge, black, ant-like creatures with segmented bodies. Their front most segments actually craned upwards in a feminine facsimile of a torso and head. Where they _would_ have had hips which merged with the abdomen were two beady red eyes, like smoldering charcoal. Beneath that were the mandibles, large enough to scrape against the dirt as they gnashed angrily. Their six legs had chitin jutting from it like the limbs had ripped out of their body to press against the ground.

It was horrifying, and a part of her was deeply glad Felix hadn't turned around. One of his rare emotions had pushed through the shell he hid in, and had he looked back it would have overtaken him completely. The rifle's report had sparked him into action however, and she could hear his frantic breathing over her shoulder as they ran. Somewhere to her right she could make out the faint yellow blur of Professor Yang's hair. Then, without warning, she realized Sam had appeared beneath Gracie's elbow on the other side of her.

Despite running, she held her breath as all of them seemed to erupt into cold panic. Even Yang was filled with uncertainty as they barreled through the darkness of the woods.

The only person with any level of composure was their leader, who ran with an awkward gait as she twisted her torso and used her chameleon eyes to track Gracie at the same time as she peered back down her scope and fired behind them every few steps.

It wasn't hard to understand why. The Queens were in hot pursuit. Their bodies must have been unfathomably heavy, as each step they took with their numerous legs practically rumbled the trees around them. She wanted to cry, but every time her breath hitched or her legs faltered, Gracie's strength _forced_ them back under her as she threatened to drag her through the woods if she didn't comply or keep up.

Felix didn't speak, but his breathing said everything it needed to his frantic gasping belied that he _was _whimpering slightly. His fear was so primal at this point she could taste it. It wasn't just a feeling anymore but a completely physical thing. The only reason he hadn't overtaken Gracie in his panic was that, unlike the faunas, he didn't have night vision.

That small note popped into her head suddenly, and she was immensely grateful that Gracie was leading them and Sam was covering them. She did, however, wish that Blake had been with them. That their Professor could only see a scant few inches before her did nothing to soothe her mood now that it had dawned on her.

* * *

"Dammit," Sam cursed under her breath, sliding slightly as she squared her rifle into her stomach and bolted a dust round. She didn't need to be accurate with _this_ to give them a second of space. The rifle screamed violently, literally pushing her across the ground as the round exploded from the barrel. The Fire Dust enlarged around the round and it looked like she'd fired a cannonball from the weapon. It crashed into one of the Formian, knocking it completely off track as it lunged towards her.

She grinned slightly, shouldering the rifle as she wheeled and zipped back up to the party as they fled. It didn't matter how bad things got, she was always impressed with her craftsmanship. Still, with one of them out of the chase, the other Queen now had far more room to maneuver. She didn't want to try anything with her.

She'd only gotten lucky when the closer one had leapt into the air. It couldn't dodge in the air after all.

The second Queen kept close though, and Sam was vehemently aware that if she tripped it would be over before anyone else could stop to help her. Turning her attention forward, focusing on running instead of the consequences of a mistake, she surveyed the team.

Gracie had night vision, just like she did. Just one of the many perks of being a faunas. She was the natural point besides herself, not to mention she was more experienced in the wilderness with her upbringing. She was more likely to pick a course that was easier for them to navigate, but might hamper their oversized pursuers. Call it a hunter's intuition, but Sam was certain that would be the case. Thus far, it had seemed true, but she wasn't about to rack it up as anything other than luck until she heard otherwise.

Livy was probably their weakest runner, so calling Gracie to action had also triggered that protective instinct in her. She'd seized Livy by the wrist and very likely would have dragged her without issue should it come to that. It hadn't yet, but it was a possibility. Especially since Livy kept glancing around like a frightened deer. _She_ couldn't see a damn thing, so an errant root would be all that was required to put her on her face.

Felix was, almost comically, both the biggest and smallest liability at the same time. If his weapons hadn't been sheathed, they very likely would be back in the clearing they'd been ambushed. He wasn't tracing Gracie's path, being slightly to the side, but his natural agility was serving him well. His hands frantically slapped branches from his face and he leapt over obstacles almost as fast as they could approach him. He might not be able to see in the dark, but his reflexes were peerless. If they turned too quickly though, he very likely might just continue onwards blindly in his obvious panic.

She noted that, in case Gracie made a turn sometime soon. It wouldn't be a smart plan to leave him in the direct path of the Queen, or to abandon him.

Professor Yang may not have been able to see where she was going, but she could be a brute if required. At least that's what Ruby had always said. Sam had discarded any doubts for that in the moment. She didn't have Felix's natural reflexes, but any root foolish enough to get in her path was torn up by her foot. Never mind the foliage she passed through, it like it wasn't even there. It seemed like most of it had only been thin branches or tall grass at first, but at some point she went directly through a bush, uprooting it entirely.

As the chase wore on, and they pulled further away from the Queen's territory, she finally relented. Sam kept her silence however, turning over her shoulder to confirm the deepest darkness of the woods consumed their pursuer as they finally escaped. She gave it a few more minutes before finally calling them to a halt.

Livy collapsed almost immediately, having given every ounce of energy in her body to keep up with Gracie's seemingly limitless stamina. Felix had wheeled on the darkness with several hopping back steps as his blades came out. He wasn't sure if stop had meant 'time to fight' or 'we're all safe now' and he wasn't taking chances it seemed. Professor Yang took several deep breaths as she quickly squinted into the darkness to make sure they were all still present and accounted for after the flight. Gracie was unfazed, a single glance backwards towards Sam enough for her own eyes to confirm they were no longer in danger.

"Everyone cool?" Professor Yang spoke into _her_ darkness. It was strange to mentally process that three of them couldn't really see each other.

"I am definitely not _cool_." Felix spoke between heavy breaths. His agitation was clear, or perhaps it was something else.

"Ha~" Livy breathed in a loud gasp of confirmation.

"As ice." Gracie said, truly speaking to her stamina with her level words.

"It appears as if we're all squared away. That could have gone better." Sam lamented, a sigh of relief accompanying her planting a fist on her hip.

"Are you kidding?" Professor Yang chuckled, "I was certain that was going to be _worse_. I've never called an escape a 'nice job' but I think this warrants it."

"I won't rest easy until we're back at the inn." Sam frowned to herself. Only Gracie could have spotted the expression. However, she'd busied herself with Livy whom she had hoisted onto her back to carry the rest of the way.

Felix didn't reply, only edging slightly towards Sam some, still looking past her. She had spoken long enough he could pin point her in the dark, and he'd come close enough that his slightly adjusted eyes could make her out clearly. She _definitely_ disliked his expression right now. It only served as a reminder her how dark the woods were and how close to death they likely had been.

Without any further milling about, she tasked Gracie with getting them back to town. It was a short tromp, but exhaustion hung on all of them, even Professor Yang. Tension had a way of beating you down, especially when you weren't permitted to directly address it. Fleeing certainly didn't feel like addressing the situation, even if it solved the problem.

When everyone split for the rooms, Sam took a moment to pull Gracie aside.

"Hey, I wanted to say nice work. Both for the tracking earlier and for taking the lead." Sam crossed her arms, leaning against the wall of the inn hallway. It had a faint rustic appeal, and almost reminded her of home. Figuring Gracie came from a similar small town background, she wondered if it did the same for her.

"Hey, no big deal. Running through the woods is pretty normal for me. It was kind of exciting in the end too." She shrugged, "And it wasn't bad seeing Felix a bit scared. Nice to know he can do more than grimace, ya know?"

"I guess," Sam smiled softly in return, "but we really would have been in a bind without you. I could have handled myself, but I don't think I could have pushed them all through like you did."

"Eh, that's why we're a team. Right? Pickin' up slack and such." Gracie shrugged, her shoulders bulging, "You're the one with all the quick thinking, I just made with the quick legs." The massive faunas reached down and clapped her on the shoulder, physically causing her to stagger a little at the force.

"Well, we should definitely rest up for now. It is a long ride back to Beacon tomorrow, and we'll have to give our report first thing on our return before we get off at all."

"Yeah, I could definitely rest," Gracie chortled, "Though I'd think you're more tired. You worked the brain _and_ the body. That's always the worst."

Sam smirked, "Is that why you eat so much?"

"Well yeah! Gotta fuel up else it is straight to naps-ville when class starts."

"Maybe you should skip the morning work outs."

"Not a chance!"

They laughed a little as Sam opened the door and let her lead them back into the room.

* * *

The ceremony hall seemed oddly stuffy as Sam stood at the head of her team, her hands clasped behind her back. She stood beside Professor Yang with as much confidence as she could muster as the other teams began giving Headmaster Jaune their mission reports. It was supposed to instill a sense of professionalism to the event she was told, something like debriefing a very proper petitioner.

All it did was make her nervous.

Professor Nora's team went first, and they had a pretty simple task to handle. It was a little bit like an escort mission in that they accompanied a caravan and helped with onload and offload. It was meant to appear like protection, despite being students, but there was apparently no real threat of attack anyway. It was simply a paranoid merchant. Judging from the verbal part of their report, he was amicable at least. She would never get to see whatever Nora had written up for Jaune.

Much like what Professor Yang had written up concerning them.

That is what unnerved her the most, as Lady Weiss launched into an explanation of their team's exploits. She didn't know the grading scale or what was being evaluated. She only knew that Yang had asked if _she_ would report on their behalf, and to leave her commendations and judgement to her paperwork. It had seemed nice at the time, but the more she'd thought it over the more she felt like they'd completely failed the assignment.

After all, wouldn't she have been more open if they had done well? Let them know just how important things had been? She knew she'd sort of played fast and loose with the rules in her decision to scout the Formians out, but she didn't think it was going to be judged so harshly. She had no concept for Professor Yang's opinion of their mission or tactics. It only made this entire 'public speaking' thing infinitely more nerve wracking.

Professor Ren finally had his turn, regaling Headmaster Jaune with how Team JGCX helped set up some barns around the town they'd headed to assist. It sounded like good work, and judging by how pleased the team and the Headmaster appeared at the outcome, it was.

Only one team was left before she was going to have to speak. Professor Pyrrah and Team JSPR.

"The missing watchmen in the town we were sent to investigate," Professor Pyrrah began in her oddly formal tone, "Had in fact fallen victim to beowolf attacks. A small pack of the beasts had taken up residence nearby and had been causing some issue. There weren't enough of them to openly overrun the town, but they were taking the night watch who kept an eye on the livestock in the evening, as well as some of the livestock."

Her tone faded into uneasy disappointment as she continued, "We had originally, under my guidance, decided to call it a day after we helped restore the damaged fences and informed the town elder of the proper precautions to take while we set a proper team of hunters to handle the situation. However, that evening Jay and Patton absconded from their rooms to stop the attacks in a more _upfront_ manner."

The last bit came with a heavy sigh, and she averted her gaze ever so slightly when she concluded, "When I sensed something was awry, I roused the girls and we hunted them down. Upon arrival, we found the offending Grimm and disposed of it without incurring any harm to the students or any of the townsfolk. The mission was a success, and the students came to no harm."

The Headmaster pursed his lips together, rubbing his chin as he debated his next words. Up until now, he'd simply thanked the teams for their service and stated simply he would review their report later that evening. This time, he seemed more concerned about his words. It was not so simple as to dismiss it. Sam swallowed hard, thinking about how he might react to their decisions.

Glancing over, she saw Jay standing proudly. His chest was puffed out and he glanced at anyone whose eye he could catch, including her, with satisfaction. He was like a peacock, flaunting his superiority. Look at me, look at what we did. Are we not fantastic?

"Whereas I am glad no one was harmed," the Headmaster began, a frown painted across his lips, "I am disappointed that you would ignore my suggestion to avoid contact with the Grimm. Especially considering your Instructor on site had determined it to be less than prudent to pursue such an end. So thought it may be commendable that you achieved success, it would serve you well in the future to know that some employers, this one included, may have qualms with you straying from their request. However, I will reserve judgement until I have reviewed your Instructor's report this evening."

At last, he cast his eyes upon Professor Yang, "Team FLAN, please brief me on your request."

Sam, too, turned her eyes to Professor Yang. However, the buxom blonde only grinned as she leaned against her hip, "Well, don't keep our scruffy headmaster waiting! Fill him in!"

Clearing her throat, Sam stepped forward and spoke swiftly as her nerves commandeered her tongue, "While investigating the town and helping to repair some of the damage caused by a yet unsighted Grimm, we spotted something curious in the woods. At the behest of our Instructor, Yang," She gestured with a single hand. Her voice was slowing as she spoke, and she felt a certain calmness wash over her. It was just another battlefield after all, a war fought and won with words. Right? She could fight like that too, "We entered the woods to investigate."

"Our search yielded a hive of Formians. Originally, we intended to depart the premises upon realization that we may possibly encounter Grimm," Sam paused, taking a deep breath to compose herself. Oddly, she felt tall standing beside Professor Yang. She glanced back, Gracie and Livy smiled at her while Felix appeared to puff his chest out ever so slightly as he stood with his arms behind his back, "However I made the determination that, since this was already outside of our original knowledge of the mission area that we should gather intelligence for a more experienced set of hunters to arrive. The exact findings of our scouting is likely detailed in the report, but we were forced to retreat due in part to nightfall and that we were discovered by the Grimm." Coughing to clear her throat she paused, then concluded her report in much the same way the other instructors had.

"Given the situation, we believe the mission was a success, and my team incurred no injuries while under the care of Professor Yang."

_My_ team. She thought to herself, a hint of pride at the statement.

"Very good," the Headmaster replied with a nod. She thought he would wrap it up there, but he grinned and went on, "I find it commendable that, when presented with a complication you elected to find a third option outside of fight or flight. As I'm sure you know, information can save lives. I will be sure to pass on whatever you acquired to an appropriate team when they partake in the mission. You should be proud that you turned a loss into a victory with such quick thinking. I will review your report this evening, but take pride in your efforts and that you made a bold, but correct decision."

Even Sam couldn't contain the beaming smile on her face as she offered a gracious bow. She turned back to her team and almost skipped back to them in her hurry. Glancing to the other teams, she noted that most of them seemed taken aback at the errant praise. Jack, the leader of Team JGCX caught her eye and gave her a giant grin and a thumbs up. Jay glowered bitterly.

"Nice brief!" Livy giggled joyously as she hugged Sam, "You were so brave and well spoken!"

"Made us sound real heroic!" Gracie chortled pleasantly. Felix just nodded, still standing professionally as he awaited dismissal.

"Now," the Headmaster spoke up, "you've all had an opportunity to touch on the work that hunters and huntresses do every day. Perhaps these were not the most _exciting_ assignments, but know that even the most mundane of efforts can lend strength to the people. We aren't strictly weapons, we are people. In that capacity, we are also _hope_. Some of you would do well to remember that next time this opportunity presents itself. You are all permitted the rest of the week off, and will resume classes on Monday. Enjoy the extended weekend, rest up, and be ready to give it your all when we return the following week. Unless anyone has anything further, you are dismissed."

* * *

Felix didn't know how to feel about it honestly. Four days was a lot of spare time. He debated what kind of training he could get done if he gave all the time to it. He imagined he could get quite a bit done, especially in regards to planning things out. Sam did her best work in the training room when he was focusing on his drills. At least in his opinion. It always felt like her best plans were brewed up around actual action.

"Four whole days off! What are you guys going to do with all that spare time?" Livy laughed as they walked down the hall.

It occurred to him that this was the first time they'd all been together outside their room and the mission. Classes didn't really count, it wasn't like they could socialize.

"I was thinking maybe a bit of training, a trip into Vale would be nice too. Unwind a little from all that action last night!" Gracie chuckled, walking with her hands behind her head. She reminded him vaguely of Yang, headstrong, powerful, a respectable force on the field of battle. That wasn't to say she was a bad person elsewhere, just that he felt her greatest asset was her strength. Maybe that was harsh, she was a solid tracker too.

"I was thinking we might work together a little bit, assuming no one has issues with that." Sam walked amongst the three of them. Precisely in the middle to be exact. She was flanked on either end by Gracie and Livy, and he walked behind her. That _particular_ comment earned a glare over her shoulder. He smirked ever so slightly.

"I would be remiss to turn down the suggestion of such a clever leader." He answered in a stately manner, mimicking Jaune's commentary. She blew air through her nose as she turned her eyes forward again.

"Then tomorrow we'll do morning training together. _All_ of us." This time Livy earned a glare, which she snickered at. He was never around to see it, but Sam had mentioned over Tuesday's armory day that Livy very much liked to sleep in when the opportunity presented itself.

"And Felix isn't going to mind me butting in on his training?" Gracie clicked her teeth to punctuate the statement, not bothering to look back at him.

"Felix?" Sam glanced at him. It was faster than he could have replied if he'd wanted to. He clicked his tongue disappointedly.

"Sam's the leader. What she says goes."

"Odd comment for _you_ to be making," Gracie snipped, finally glancing at him.

"Gracie." Sam spoke her name sternly, but not angrily.

Gracie sighed, "You're right, what Sam says goes."

"Then it is settled, we'll start team drills tomorrow. If you want to do individual drills show up earlier than 8 or stay late. 8 to 10 is my time."

"Two whole hours? Making up for lost time?" Livy mused, if it were anyone else, Felix would have assumed she was complaining.

"Perhaps, we _do_ have some catching up to do."

"Just don't push too hard," Felix spoke up, "We aren't going to become JGCX overnight."

"I know, but you can't blame me for trying." Sam turned to walk backwards, smiling at all of them.

"No, I guess we can't. You're kind of a perfectionist." Felix sighed tiredly.

"I thought that was you?" Livy snickered.

* * *

**And another solid chapter in the works. Hopefully I can keep some semblance of timeliness.**

**Arc 1 should be wrapping up in a couple of weeks and then we'll do some EX chapters.**

**I'm also working a special Thanksgiving Episode that is completely instructors~**

**That's a bit tougher though, considering that I have to capture a lot of voices I didn't invent.**

**Either way, hope you guys:**

**Enjoy~**

**Get at me.**


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